Google to Start Venture Capital Fund

Google officially announced yesterday the creation of Google Ventures, a $100MM venture capital arm of the company. Unlike VC funds at other companies like Cisco and Intel, the fund will not limit investments to startups that are related to Google's business. The Google Ventures website explains that the fund's purpose is not to foster companies for later acquisition or to push Google products; rather, it appears that Google simply believes that it can earn a healthy return from the fund because Google's in-house personnel and resources put the company in position to effectively evaluate and grow new companies. Is this deviation from Google's normal line of business just another example of the company's innovative mindset or could the company be starting to lose sight of who it is?