Forum Moderators: open
Google Sitemaps will soon take on a new moniker, Search Engine Sitemap, as Yahoo and MS embrace the technology that allows you, the webmaster, to inform them, the SE's, of the files that are available for indexing on your site.
If you have already started using Sitemaps (the Google version) then nothing will change for you. New users should probably have a look at the Sitemaps new site, http://www.sitemaps.org/
This thread is not about the value of sitemaps for helping your site become indexed. It is about, IMO, making life a little easier for the webmaster. I'm happy that they can agree on something like this.