How functional would it be? Would it be like a Liger? That grow like up to twice the size of a tiger or lion, but are and have health problems, often have birth defects, and limited lifespans. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9shtBExHgk&[/youtube]
I don't know, but chimps are pretty smart. So if it just landed square in the middle between man and chimp it might be pissed about being born.
Provided there's a scientific purpose for it (i.e. not just doing it "because they can") then I see no problems. From what I gather from the article, it could be to try to discover more about our ancestry, so such an experiment could help to improve our understanding of evolution and the world around us. Thus, I have no problem with such a hybrid.