Will google penalize you for linking to non related sites?

[anand2008]

I've heard different opinions on this subject. I swap links with any website as long as I feel my type of customer visits those sites and if it will bring me business. Am I wrong for thinking this way? Will google penalize me in the rankings for some of these non related sites?

[davidhussey]

Link only to sites that are useful or "of interest" for your visitors.

Give you visitors a good reason to link to your site or to talk about your site, (usefulness or "of interest").

or do as I do, indiscriminately link to thousands every day.