Looks like Google is upping the ante with their "Knol" project... I haven't checked it out yet but certainly sounds like there's a plan to "privatize" what Wikipedia currently delivers... but will Knol be as successful for Google?  If anyone could make it successful, it would have to be Google... that said, I think Wikipedia offers a great service as it is relatively unbiased source of information and would hold up well to this competitive offering.