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First Google video Doodle imagines John Lennon

In celebration of the 70th birthday of John Lennon, Google's Doodle team releases its first-ever video doodle, something of an homage to Lennon's own simple, quirky drawings.

Chris Matyszczyk

John Lennon would have been 70 today and, one imagines, probably hosting a bed-based political chat show on YouTube.

Google, whose doodles have become increasingly quirky, decided that this was the moment to release its first-ever video doodle. It appears on its home page and when you click on it, the logo plays a delightful movie which is, naturally, also available on YouTube.

On Google's official blog, doodler Mike Dutton explained: "The old saying, 'A picture is worth a thousand words' still rings true, so I hope a moving picture will help me adequately--and simply--thank John for the memories."

The Doodle itself is beautifully simple.

It is also something of an homage to Lennon's own simple, quirky drawings, which were, the cognoscenti tell me, inspired in part by the work of James Thurber of The New Yorker.

The Google Doodle team's wings are beginning to spread with each new venture. Its last effort, a tribute to Agatha Christie, even offered the intrigue of a murder.

I look forward, though, to the Doodle team trying to outdo and outdoodle itself artistically in the months to come. I am hoping that the team focuses on April 27, the birthday of CEO Eric Schmidt. Surely it could take its imagination where it has never ventured and create a lasting public homage that we might all enjoy.