Nokia has quietly launched a web-based Download Store, offering applications and games to users in 17 European countries. It's an online equivalent of the Download application available on Nokia handsets.

You can find it here. Users choose their country, handset and operator, and are then able to browse a range of apps and download them.

Games are included, although not many so far. For example, for the N73 there's currently a choice of three titles: 3D Racing and Crocodile Pool from M Bounce, and Marble Revolution 2 from Bit-Side.

The interesting thing is that the games are offered as free trials, presumably with an upgrade option once the game is on a user's phone.

The downside is that there's currently no option to get the games sent directly to handsets (for example, as a WAP link). Instead, the Symbian files are downloaded to the desktop, to be sideloaded onto the handset.

Evidence from M:Metrics suggests that web-based discovery is going to be increasingly important in the mobile games market, so it's good to see Nokia active in this area.

However, it's clearly early days for its Download Store. One to watch, in other words.