Google seems to be having more effect, or influence at least, on our lives as each day passes.
In France, in Normandy to be more precise, is the little market town of Eu, population 8,000. The town is the site of a nice little chateau and the powers that be are keen to attract visitors.
However, ‘Googling’ Eu tends to bring up a lot of sites relating to the European Union and other irrelevancies and this has led the Mayor to propose changing the name of the town.
Mayor Marie-Françoise Gaouyer was faced with two options. To pay internet giants like Yahoo and Google thousands to put the town at the top of all “Eu” searches, or change the town’s name. The second option is considered the most practical and options being considered are Ville d’Eu, Eu-le-Château and Eu-en-Normandie.
It will, however, take around five years for the name change to be finalised (and you thought Spain was bureacratic!), and that’s provided the population agree to the proposal. A referendum on the matter is being proposed.