The Google doodle Lennon fans and Apple may hate

Google today unveiled a new 'doodle' on its homepage which features music and art by John Lennon, timed to commemorate what would have been the Beatle's 70th birthday. But neither Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, or some of Lennon's fans are likely to approve.

Google's 'doodles' – the images, animations and even games that stand in for the search engine's logo from time to time – have been getting more ambitious, and presumably bigger-budget, in recent years.

But today's is a quantum leap, featuring 32 seconds of audio of Lennon performing his best-known solo song, Imagine. The song is accompanied by a line-drawing animation that incorporates peace logos, flowers, waterfalls and butterflies into the site's logo.

The audacious coup de grace is the use of Lennon's famous self-portrait, an instantly recognisable minimal doodle of a few lines. Lennon's owlish NHS specs now form the 'oo' of 'Google'.

The clip has garnered many positive reactions. "A fitting tribute.. Nicely done, Google," fawns website the IT Chronicle. But others may not be so enthusiastic, among them Jobs, who has always tried to position Apple, now the biggest tech company in the world, as a counter-cultural force.

When Google released an ad for its instant search facility last month that used the famous film of Bob Dylan discarding cards with the lyrics to Subterranean Homesick Blues, the Valleywag gossip site speculated it might be intended specifically to wind up Jobs. The Apple boss is a Dylan fan, and has used his image in adverts before, but never the music Dylan is notoriously cagey about licensing.

But perhaps most likely to find the doodle uncool are hardcore Lennon fans. In January this year, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, kicked over a hornets' nest when she allowed footage of the star to be used to sell Citroen cars.

John and Yoko's son Sean was goaded on Twitter by one particularly angry fan, who said: "John was a musical genius and stood for something worthwhile. You and your mother are a talentless pair of leeches. Enjoy the money... can't buy you love!"

Sean lashed out in response: "It is you who show him no respect. You are speaking to his flesh and blood. You're a peasant as far as I can see." The Google doodle can only have been produced with Yoko's blessing as she owns the copyright of both Imagine and the self-portrait.

Some may be disappointed that the site didn't use another, less well-known Lennon self-portrait. A film of that title was exhibited by John and Yoko at the ICA in London in 1969: 42 minutes long, it was a single close up of Lennon's penis slowly becoming semi-erect.

According to his biographer, Albert Goldman, Lennon was unable to achieve a full erection for the cameras, even when somebody produced a copy of Playboy. Self-Portrait could have been the perfect tie-in for Google, granted that it facilitates many modern searches for erotic material.

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