europeforvisitors - 11:00 pm on Dec 22, 2004 (gmt 0)

If the ads are relevant to the listings, meaning that if the searcher is searching for blue widget books, and the listings in the "directory" category are for blue widget books, and the adsense ads right above the listings are for blue widget books, it benefits the advertiser greatly. They get targeted leads, which is exactly what adwords is for.

That's true only if the searcher wants to buy blue widget books. If the searcher is looking for reviews or information about blue widget books, ads that are disguised as directory listings (as they're all too likely to be on "made for AdSense" sites) are just a worthless and fraudulent drain on the advertisers' accounts.