Well, it may not have enjoyed the smoothest of launches, but it appears that Google Base is already being afforded the sincerest type of flattery by Microsoft - that of imitation. 

Microsoft are strongly rumoured to be launching their own "classified ads" type product, codenamed Fremont according to www.redherring.com.  The service will initially be launched in a limited Beta format and, like the Google product, is targeted at private and business advertisers without their own web presence. 

Anyone care to take bets on when we see a similar service from Yahoo! ?