Re: Base_url and perfix "www"

>Isn't it a function of a sitemap to speed up the indexing?
No - it isn't actually -- it will help your site get indexed *better*,
but *only if* Google is already indexing your site. Getting initially
indexed is still a function of "value" based mainly on inbound links. A
single PR6 link could get your site indexed over night (ok, it depends
a bit on the site, but for small ones it's valid) :-). Also keep in
mind, that getting indexed (crawled) is not the same as getting listed.
Some areas seem to have a higher "border" you need to cross in order
for Google to actually start listing your site in the search results.
We did lots of tests on that subject, you can find some of the results
here: http://seside.net

Cheers
John