Are Google Pages the New Geocities?

The topic du jour around the tech blogosphere is the emergence of Google Pages, a new service which enables Web neophytes to create a website:

Google Page Creator is a free online tool that makes it easy for anyone to create and publish useful, attractive web pages in just minutes.

• No technical knowledge required.
  Build high-quality web pages without having to learn HTML or use complex software.
• What you see is what you’ll get.
  Edit your pages right in your browser, seeing exactly how your finished product will look every step along the way.
• Don’t worry about hosting.
  Your web pages will live on your own site at http://yourgmailusername.googlepages.com

I haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t speak to its ease of use. Here’s a sample from Dave Winer, who calls the service “totally unremarkable”. Robert Scoble points out, on the other hand, that 45% of small businesses still don’t have websites. Here’s more of the buzz.