Google has announced it is bringing back the @gmail.com email address for new users of the service in the UK after it reached a settlement with the company claiming the name as its own.
Anyone that fancied hopping on Google's email service after October 2005 has been given an @googlemail.com suffix to their username, after another company claimed it held the rights to gmail.
UPDATE: We've asked Google for a statement about what's happened, and the search engine has kindly responded (via a real life spokesperson, not just us Googling our query):
"After engaging in legal proceedings at the trademark office, we were able to reach a settlement with the party with whom we had the conflict.
We are happy to have resolved this issue, and look forward to offering @gmail.com addresses to users in the UK."
Adding the oogle
It is a little confusing as even though those issued with an @googlemail.com after October 2005 were still able to receive mail on the equivalent @gmail.com address - but now this just sounds cooler and as Google points out: saves finger energy (sort of).
We're having a little word with Google now to see if we can find out the reason for the change, but this is something it may stay a little tight-lipped on.
So if you've been sitting on the Googlemail fence for over five years based on the too-long suffix, then a) you need to get out more and b) the world has now become a brighter place for you.
