WOW! is the first thing that comes to mind when reading the
Google Blog this morning.
Google is actually asking for webmasters to submit sitemaps to help ensure Google has all of your current pages and, more importantly for webmasters, increase your coverage in Google.
They readily admit that this newest project will have one of two possible outcomes: fail miserably or succeed beyond our wildest dreams. However, this comes down to a judgement call for webmasters.
In my judgement, I'll follow Google's lead and hope for the best; they undertake nothing without calculating the cost-benefit analysis. Furthermore, Google loves Google - I don't see this hurting my site provided it's in order pursuant to their guidelines.
To make the prospect of the project even sweeter, they are offering a Sitemap Generator.
My suggestion would be to ask "how high" when the Big G says "jump" and do it now; no doubt, they'll be overwhelmed with submissions within hours.
Good Luck and Happy Ranking!
w®m