Well the votes are in, and Pluto has gotten the axe as have the other new planets that originally were going to be included.  Our solar system has eight planets.  Pluto is reclassified as a “dwarf planet” along with Ceres and 2003 UB313…

…The IAU members gathered at the 2006 General Assembly agreed that a “planet” is defined as a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

This means that the Solar System consists of eight “planets” Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A new distinct class of objects called “dwarf planets” was also decided. It was agreed that “planets” and “dwarf planets” are two distinct classes of objects. The first members of the “dwarf planet” category are Ceres, Pluto and 2003 UB313 (temporary name). More “dwarf planets” are expected to be announced by the IAU in the coming months and years. Currently a dozen candidate “dwarf planets” are listed on IAU's “dwarf planet” watchlist, which keeps changing as new objects are found and the physics of the existing candidates becomes better known.

The “dwarf planet” Pluto is recognised as an important proto-type of a new class of trans-Neptunian objects. The IAU will set up a process to name these objects…

Note that this definition refers only to our solar system and thus ties the definition of planet to our local neighborhood.  This means that the hundreds of planets found in orbit around other stars to date are now … what?  Oh well.  At least the IAU agreed on a definition.  And Pluto is still a fascinating world no matter what you call it.  I'm still stoked that the New Horizons probe is going there, but bummed that I have to wait until July 14, 2015.

Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy Blog discusses the new classification of Pluto.