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austtr - 11:55 pm on Sep 17, 2008 (gmt 0)
I have some previous experience with those directories and am not aware of any sites suffering a penalty with Google because of their inclusion. They are some of the very, very few directories worth considering.... IMO
Your SEO firm is giving you good advice. Those are reputable directories that use human reviews. That is what you are paying for with no guarantee of being accepted.