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Homer Simpson, and "Argh! don't turn!" satnav from TomTom

What would you do if your satnav informed you: “Take the third right. We might find an ice cream truck! Mmm…ice cream.”? Answer: you'd say: "That Homer Simpson!"

It's true: most people really hate the voice of their satnav. "Patronising snooty bitch," they snarl as the synthesised vocals instruct them to do something obvious. "Pompous fat-arsed idiot!" they say when the male version sends them in the wrong direction.

TomTom has enrolled Homer Simpson to take the flack. Will it make us love our TomTom? or will it make us hate Homer? It's not free: Homer’s voice is available for download for £7.95 (€9.95 in Ireland).

TomTom has announced that it has "joined forces with Locutio Voice Technologies and Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox L&M), to bring the original voice* of Homer Simpson to TomTom sat nav devices for the very first time."

The announcement adds: "With Homer’s unpredictable and comical commands leading the way, drivers are guaranteed an unforgettable journey." Well, if that's what you want...

Damian Woodward, sales and marketing manager, TomTom UK & Ireland, said: “Celebrity voices are the most popular downloads that we offer our customers to enable them to personalise their driving experience. With Homer Simpson’s voice helping them to navigate during their trip, TomTom users will not only travel safely and with less stress, but they will also be highly entertained along the way."

Or they will be enraged to the point of throttling their children?

"Homer Simpson has one of the most identifiable voices in entertainment history," said Elie Dekel, Fox Executive Vice President Licensing and Merchandising. "We have joined forces with TomTom to help celebrate The Simpsons' 20th anniversary and will help provide a little levity for those long summer road trips ahead."

These days, TomTom includes up to 70 preloaded voices, in 36 different languages, and now drivers can have Homer Simpson navigate them to any location, including specific points of interest. You can visit http://www.tomtom.com/simpsons to find out more and hear samples of the voice. Current TomTom users can simply log into their TomTom HOME account to purchase the voice online.

Note* The original Homer Simpson voice recorded by Dan Castellaneta.