That seems to be what a lot of Google initiatives are lately. It's like Xerox PARC or Microsoft Research, except Google is taking the step to capitalize on thos

That seems to be what a lot of Google initiatives are lately. It's like Xerox PARC or Microsoft Research, except Google is taking the step to capitalize on those projects for PR reasons as well. I doubt they will have more success in getting things to market and making a business out of something from their research labs than Microsoft (so that it shifts the revenue mix from 94% ads to anything else). It's important for them to be seen as "innovative" so that the company doesn't become a stodgy old web company like AOL or Yahoo. I believe mainly for recruitment purposes.