Google preparing to launch Chrome Extensions gallery?

A few months back, the new tab page in Chrome tipped us off to the impending launch of Google's theme gallery. Tonight, there's a new change that could very well mean that Google is getting ready to open the doors to a similar gallery - for Chrome extensions.

Up until now, the corner of the page featured a small graphic which linked to the Themes Gallery. Today, that image was replaced with the puzzle pieces you see above which links to https://chrome.google.com/extensions. Don't get too excited, though. As with the themes gallery thumbnail in July, the link doesn't go where it's supposed to yet. You'll be redirected to Google's search page.

According to a recent posting on Google Groups by Chrome team member Neil Baum, extensions are set to hit Chrome's beta channel in early December. The plan may well be to launch both the updated beta and extension gallery at the same time.

With extensions one step closer to landing on the stable version, it will be important to provide a centralized location where willing testers can find and install them.

While you wait for the doors to open, you can always check out our list of 15+ great Chrome extensions and Chromeextensions.org's massive collection.