It now seems higly likely that Google did so as a pre-cursor to the roll-out of a search service tailored to enable a more localized search. Yes, physical location.
From the article:
The new algorithmic formulas, scheduled to begin working Wednesday, will allow Google to display more local information in response to search requests that include a ZIP code or a city's name.
Google says these geographic queries will now be more likely to generate phone numbers and specific addresses on its main results page. In many cases, Google also will display an icon of a compass that can be clicked upon to open another page containing a detailed map and directions to the location.
Web surfers who want a broader selection of parochial information will be encouraged to visit a new gateway, http://local.google.com.
"Google's goal is to connect searchers with the information they need whether it's halfway around the world or in their neighborhood," said company co-founder Sergey Brin..........[snip]
Mountain View-based Google believes it will have a major advantage over its other rivals--the Internet's biggest index, consisting of 4.3 billion Web pages........[snip]
Three things.
This move makes perfect sense in light of the 'Google dance' that has left webmasters scratching their heads as to why their ad placements have fallen as of late.
Sure it's about more exacting searches, but it's more about tapping into the $22 billion USD spent annually by businesses on local ads in print and other media.
Lastly, the Internet Archive has over 11 billion pages indexed. Just to split hairs :)
UPDATE: test drives available
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