Blighty's Android fans get British English voice control

Google has revealed that Voice Actions, the series of spoken commands that allows users to control their Android phone just by talking to it, now supports good ol' British English.

The company announced on Friday that folk in the UK - not to mention France, Italy, Germany and Spain - can all now use the Voice Actions feature in their home language or dialect.

Until now, anyone who wanted to use the feature has had to affect an American accent in order for the phone to recognise what was being said. Well, not anymore.

Users can speak commands in as British an accent as they like. It might not work with thick regional dialects, though, so Geordies, Scousers, toffs and 'innit' kids beware. Likewise those who think 'th' is pronounced 'f'.

Available on phones and tablets running Android 2.2 and higher, Voice Actions can be downloaded free from Android Market. ®