See also:

http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-oxf1.htm

This is the 'Oxford comma', and is part of the house style of both the
Oxford University and Harvard Presses. It serves to resolve ambiguities in
cases such as:

I buy chocolates only from Prestat, and Charbonnel and Walker

The link above has the following as a nice example of when the comma should
be used. Try reading the following, without it:

I dedicate this book to my parents, Ayn Rand and God.

Dan.

> On Monday 05 May 2003 03:23 pm, Thomas Klausner wrote:
> > King's English says "a, b, and c".
> >
> > 	http://www.bartleby.com/116/402.html
>
> As do Strunk & White, although they note that it isn't
> appropriate for company
> names (e.g, "Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Bean", not
> "Merrill, Lynch,
> Pierce, Fenner, and Bean").  Strunk cites this as US GPO and Oxford
> University Press usage as well.
> --
> Ross A. Patterson