Google has relaunched the Android Market as Google Play, a cloud-based store which draws together its apps, books, films and music in one place – similar to the way iTunes functions on iOS. By storing all bought content online, the platform looks to be trying to break barriers between devices.

“We believe that with a strong brand, compelling offerings, and a seamless purchasing and consumption experience, Google Play will drive more traffic and revenue to the entire ecosystem,” says Kenneth Lui, Android Developer Ecosystem, in a blog post. “Google Play is built on the same infrastructure as Android Market, so the transition for users and developers will be seamless. Users can sign into their existing accounts with the same credentials as before and purchase content using the same payment methods. As a developer, there’s no change needed to your published products and you can continue to use the same publishing tools to put your app in front of hundreds of millions of Android users. If your app was in Android Market yesterday, it’s in Google Play today.”

The Android Market app, along with the individual apps for other content, will automatically update to their Play counterparts, on smartphones and Tablets running Android 2.2 onward, over the next few days.