The head of the small British research firm that forced Google to change the name of its email services in the UK yesterday, has circulated an open letter to all users of the internet giant's Gmail offering following some "concerned" responses to the development.

In the letter, Shane Smith, chairman and chief executive of Independent II Research, asserts that the dispute about the ownership of the rights to Gmail is by no means over, because Google's decision to change the name of its email services to Google mail relates solely to the UK.

And as well as moving to try to debunk some of the myths that he believes have been created around the issue, Mr Smith reveals that his company sought a settlement with Google worth $1 million a year, composed of a $500,000 annual licence payment annd $500,000 in advertising credits.

Google said yesterday that it was instituting the name change to avoid further disruption for its Gmail users and stated that Mr Smith's settlement claim was "exorbitant".

To read the full text of the open letter click here

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