MoneyMan - 7:56 pm on Nov 23, 2005 (gmt 0)

>>does Google need to spend so much time on all this stuff

Local search is a multi billion dollar industry. Yes, it is very much worth their while.

This is pioneering functionality - albeit simple in nature. They are the early bird and will benefit when the information to support the functionality catches up. Even well before the step whoisgregg describes, this functionality will become unbiquitous. The quality of the data will utlimately dictate when this tipping point occurs.