inbound - 9:19 pm on Nov 19, 2006 (gmt 0)

The theory goes that Google has full access to whois details and MAY consider domains that are paid well up-front to be less likely to be 'throw away' spammy ones.

My own view is that there are many, many other ways to help Google see your site is legitimate.

Having said that, if you intend to keep the name for at least 10 years, registering for 10 years can't hurt and will mean you're unlikely to forget to renew it and lose it (keep on topping up the domain every year, then if you miss a year or two it's not curtains for the domain)