Google allows changes to home page

SEARCH ENGINE outfit Google is putting a shrubbery or two on its famously Zen home page.

A new option will put "panoramic settings" that change with the time of day and the outside weather on the normally black web page.

The blank white screen has been with us for nearly a decade, but Google hopes that its package of skins will make the home page feel even more homey for those who want such things.

Rival, Yahoo has already been offering such a package as part of an upgrade of its "MyYahoo" service. Having a look at the first skins this morning, it is clear that Google is not pushing the boat out too far yet. There are just six themes revolving mostly around landscapes and none of them are photographs.

There is a Japanese tea garden, a beach, a city skyline and a bus stop. Apparently the themes will change according to the weather, but there is still a lot of white space there.

More here. µ