What are advantages of using google.load('jQuery', …) vs direct inclusion of hosted script URL?

Question

Google hosts some popular JavaScript libraries at: http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxlibs/

According to google:

The most powerful way to load th

Answer 1

If you were to write a boatload of JavaScript that only used the library when a particular event happens, you could wait until the event happens to download the library, which avoids unnecessary HTTP requests for those who don't actually end up triggering the event. However, in the case of libraries like Prototype + Scriptaculous, which downloads over 300kb of JavaScript code, this isn't practical.