Google's Beta Algorithm: Voting for Websites?

The Taskbar's New "Vote For This Page" Button

[Livenomadic]

If you go to "Options" --> "More" in the Toolbar you find a very interesting option: "Voting Buttons".

The description says: "Voting - Sends Google a Vote For (Or Against) Current Site"

Is this part of a new possble algorithm Google is testing? Perhaps X number of votes for or against a site will in future change the SERPs? It is certainly a "Google-Like" idea.

Could voting for websites become the next backlink?

[ogletree]

That is not new it has been on the old toolbar for a long time.

[webmasterworld.com...]

[Livenomadic]

Hmm... Well don't I feel quite the novice :P

[coconutz]

The voting buttons have been around since version 1.1.53/54/55

[google.com...]
[cs.unc.edu...]

[larryhatch]

I'm using Firefox 1.0, with some extension that acts as a toolbar more or less.
I do NOT want the Google Toolbar on top of this, but would still like to vote
(boy WOULD I!) Is there a workaround where I can vote for good sites,
and against some stinkaroos, without the G Toolbar?