God did not create the universe, says Hawking.

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist," Hawking writes.

"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100902/lf_nm_life/us_britain_hawking