Ha!! i am on ubuntu 11.04..i was customizing it the other day!!(applying themes,icons,conky and the likes..)..now i realize that the the "Create launcher..." option you get when you right click on the desktop doesn't create a new launcher!! :(...i checked the global menu under file..only to realize that the option was missing!!(only the create document and folder showed up)!!..i googled in vain!! any help here??? plzz 
Ok!! solved it!! reinstalled the gnome panel!!