I personally think that Google does things like this because they can; they are not under money pressure (yet?) to have to really try to extract maximum value f

I personally think that Google does things like this because they can; they are not under money pressure (yet?) to have to really try to extract maximum value from every bit served or watt consumed, and can thus spend energy on initiatives like this that improve the web as a platform -- it's at best an indirect benefit, but fits their overall corporate strategy. And, it's cool. I have my doubts about Google, but I don't have a problem giving them the benefit of the doubt here.