rfgdxm1 - 1:00 am on Mar 28, 2004 (gmt 0)

>They get the the best directory on the planet to which they then add their own unique spin (rerank by pr). Then they offer it to you, the surfer, with those cute little green ads along the side.

THAT is an excellent point. ODP data is free to Google. They repackage it, with Adwords on the page. There really are folks who use the Google directory. If Google got rid of it, they'd lose Adword revenue. For Google, getting rid of the directory would be bad for the bottom line.