Google has called in a a weighty piece of artistic firepower in a bid to bolster the appeal of one of its home pages: Rolf Harris.

The 77-year-old Australian entertainer is among a number of artists to have allowed their work to be installed as a background - or 'skin' - on Google's personalised home page, iGoogle.

Others include Coldplay - who have offered up sections of the cover art for its new album Viva La Vida - Dolce & Gabbana, which supplied a leopardskin print, and Ronnie Wood, who has has done some paintings of horses.

The art sits like a banner at the top of the iGoogle page - which allows users to customise a range of content relevant to them - mostly feeds from websites - which is regularly updated.

Should Mr Harris's depiction of an Australian pastoral scene - which changes colour on the screen depending on the time of day - not be to taste, there is also an offering from Philippe Starck - which features short phrases such as 'We Must' in bold colours, and from Lance Armstrong, the champion cyclist.

"Most of us use the internet daily and to have painted a theme which anyone, on the internet anywhere in the world, can access is an amazing thought," Mr Harris said.

Google is hoping that the customisable feature will increase the uptake of iGoogle, which follows in the footsteps of similar personal home pages such as Netvibes and Pageflakes.

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