Google has acquired Metaweb, which maintains a database (“Freebase”) of 12 million “entities” (persons, places, or things), and all the different ways they relate and you might refer to them.

According to The Official Google Blog, Metaweb will allow Google to “improve search and make the web richer and more meaningful for everyone.” Metaweb was founded by legendary computer scientist Danny Hillis.

Metaweb’s video (below) does a good job of explaining the concept.