Jeeves the butler disappears from web

Internet butler Jeeves - the star of eponymous search engine Ask Jeeves - has gone missing, leaving many to wonder where he's gone and when or if he will be back.

Others may simply be tempted to wonder whether anybody will actually miss him.

Jeeves has come in for some stick over the years for returning results which often left users confused and his service has long being surpassed by search giants such as Google.

Now his employers at Ask.com have decided it's time for change and have taken the decision to put him on 'gardening leave' as part of a re-branding exercise.

However, they are not ruling out a return for Jeeves once he is fully rested, though early suggestions from the company seem to be that he will need to undergo a bit of a makeover first.

Aylin Savkan, VP of marketing at Ask Jeeves, said: "Jeeves has been finding solutions to millions of searches every day for the last four years. However, as our site evolves and updates, we felt that Jeeves too needed to take a break and a new look to personify the new, fresh and dynamic Ask Jeeves that we will launch on his return."

The butler appeared to have been a little de-mob happy earlier this morning, as the site limped along a little. It wasn't so much a case of "yes sir, right away sir", but more "cannot find server, this page cannot be displayed" from the pinstriped batman.