Named after voice of Starship Enterprise Google to Create Rival to Apple's Siri

Apple's Siri voice control system is as a 'digital personal assistant' designed to allow you to talk to your phone like you talk to other people. Many Google Android functions already have similar apps built in - although not quite to the specifications of Apple's much-hyped control systems.

Now it seems Google may be about to unveil an official Android rival to Siri - called Majel after Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the actor who played the voice of the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek. The name was reported by sources speaking to the Android and Me blog this week. The name tallies with earlier comments from Google staffers about a 'Star Trek'-like approach.

Google is definitely working on such a system - and this week announced that it had acquired the company Clever Sense, which offers a voice control app.