I'm waiting for the Google floor cleaner that's also a dessert topping

Is there a business that Google hasn't launched in beta form? InfoWorld refers to the buzz about something called Google Base.

On Wednesday, a screen shot of a Google beta, or test, service called Google Base began circulating via blogs and news stories. There aren't many details on the page, which has since been removed but is still available in screen shot form on various Web sites. The page encourages visitors to post items on Google Base, defined by the company as a database where Google offers to host all types of content, making the content searchable online.

As an example, Google suggests that users can list a used car for sale and also suggests that users can post "descriptions of your party-planning service" or a "database of protein structures."

It's the used car example that seems to have led many onlookers to imagine that Google is planning to encroach on eBay’s space. However, the Google Base Web page makes no mention of an auction or online sales capability.

Here's what Google says about its plans:

Rumor of the day
10/25/2005 05:02:00 PM

Posted by Tom Oliveri, Product Marketing Manager

You may have seen stories today reporting on a new product that we're testing, and speculating about our plans. Here's what's really going on. We are testing a new way for content owners to submit their content to Google, which we hope will complement existing methods such as our web crawl and Google Sitemaps. We think it's an exciting product, and we'll let you know when there's more news.

Off-topic - the title of this post is explained here.