its a little program that Gimp runs on, it does not need to be messed with or anything, it just powers up gimp..
yep, its like the .Net Framework, you need it to run some programs. it's like a little engine that runs behind it...
here is a link to gimp http://www.google.com/search?q=gimp here is a link to a helpul image http://photos4.flickr.com/7942538_48903e3585.jpg