What is Google Base?

From when the service was live, briefly, here is what Google says Google Base will be used for:

Google Base is Google’s database into which you can add all types of content. We’ll host your content and make it searchable online for free.

Examples of items you can find in Google Base:

• Description of your party planning service
• Articles on current events from your website
• Listing of your used car for sale
• Database of protein structures

You can describe any item you post with attributes, which will help people find it when they search Google Base. In fact, based on the relevance of your items, they may also be included in the main Google search index and other Google products like Froogle and Google Local.”

To me this is confusing. Doesn't this sound a bit like what a normal search engine does, only all the content is hosted on Google's server? Is Google starting their own "internet"?

It's also interesting that the logo does not contain the word "beta"... Either it has been making its way through QA for years, or they are still working on the details and probably won't be launched any time soon.