Google Flu Trends using Google search data

Have you seen the new Google Flu Trends that uses aggregated Google search data? I am preparing to leave for Christmas and was curious to see if a flu was going around.

Good News! United States flu activity: Low
New Jersey flu activity: Low

Google Flu Trends uses Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional flu systems. You can put in your zip code or choose your state and will give you a good estimation on what’s happening in your area. Each week, millions of users around the world search for online health information. There are more flu-related searches during flu season, more allergy-related searches during allergy season, and more sunburn-related searches during the summer. You can explore all of these phenomena using Google Trends.

But can search query trends provide an accurate, reliable model of real-world phenomena?
YES