Corporate social responsibility (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility) is an increasingly popular concept in management and the benefits to a company can be as abstract as enhancing market position or PR. It makes perfect sense for a company like Google to take a risky, socially responsible move like this for the reasons they've publicly stated (and note that the implied reasons did also include issues related to infrastructure and IP security). While we don't know exactly what their motives are, I see no reason to believe that they are vastly different than what google has stated.
Don't forget that the core elements of google's corporate identity, regardless of whether it's just an ideal, are "do no evil" and "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." I have no doubt that at least some executives as google, almost certainly including sergey and larry, feel that maintaining this corporate identity is important.
Don't forget that the core elements of google's corporate identity, regardless of whether it's just an ideal, are "do no evil" and "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." I have no doubt that at least some executives as google, almost certainly including sergey and larry, feel that maintaining this corporate identity is important.