And Finally... Town renames itself 'Google'

By Tony White on Mar 3, 10 01:43 PM in Websites

The town of Topeka in the USA has decided to temporarily rename itself 'Google' in order to win favour with the ubiquitous internet giant.

The campaign for the change was, according to the Topeka (or should that be Google?) Capital-Journal newspaper, initiated by a group called Think Big Topeka in order to encourage the company to test an ultra-fast broadband connection in the area.

Mayor Bill Bunten, who managed to get the measure passed with no opposition from any town leaders, said the action was primarily a bit of fun, but admitted that the connection test would be of great benefit.

The state capital of Kansas will retain its new moniker for a month.

At the time of writing, Google Maps has declined to adopt the new name of the town.

Jim Ogle, general manager of local broadcaster WIBW, said this was not the first time the town had done such a thing, adding that, in 1998, then-mayor Joan Wagnon temporarily dubbed it 'ToPikachu' in honour of a character in the trading card and computer game franchise Pokemon.

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