Noise??

[zetec]

Am looking to buy a new camera soon, I have my eye on a Nikon coolpix 5700. I have read the article on Dpreview and found it informative. One question though can someone give me a description of what they mean by Noise?? I have read the feedback section and a few users have experienced problems with this. I know it is something to do with picture distortion but can anyone give me a better explanation (in english!)

[zetec]

Cheers guys.

It is the same as graining that you sometimes get when using a zoom in low light conditions with a 35mm?