Google recently donated $2 million to The Wikimedia Foundation that runs Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikinews and many other popular free projects.
Wikimedia says that Google’s money will be used to build data centers but if you were wondering why Google had to invest in a foundation that is working on a Knol rival, here’s what experts think:
Well, in general Google focuses on giving money to causes that will help make life better or easier for its users. Studies have shown how much traffic is sent from Google to Wikipedia, and on any number of queries, a Wikipedia result will be one of the first thing that a Google user
What is good for Wikipedia – making the site faster, more reliable and more accessible – helps Google’s users get what they want, and is therefore good for the company itself. It’s not a grant, it’s an investment in making sure it can keep dominating search. link.