Amazon has added a seemingly-random wake word to its Echo smart devices, allowing users to call them by a new David Bowie-inspired name: Ziggy.

Referencing the late star's alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, 'Ziggy' is now the fifth wake word allowing you to control your Echo device, on top of 'Alexa', 'Amazon', 'Computer', and 'Echo'.

It's not clear why Amazon have added the new name, but you can change the wake word to Ziggy via the device settings on the Alexa app.

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It's available with either male or female voice options and even lets you use some fun Bowie-themed phrases to control your device.

Dennis Stansbury, the UK's manager for Amazon Alexa, said: "We chose 'Ziggy' not only because it performed well in testing, but because it's fun and reflects Alexa's wealth of knowledge on everything from A to Z.

"As an aside, I am a self-confessed David Bowie fan, so I am enjoying saying 'Ziggy, play Ziggy' and 'Ziggy, play guitar' to my Echo device."

He added that Alexa devices are designed to activate only when they hear a user's chosen wake word.

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Amazon Alexa is constantly getting new features. In June, it was announced that the smart speaker will soon be able to mimic the voices of users' dead relatives and talk as if they were still around.

You'll even be able to get your dead grandad to tell you stories about the war.

Using 1 minute of voice audio, Alexa is able to reconstruct the voices of the dead using AI.

Alexa's senior vice-president said it's designed "to make the memories last after so many of us have lost someone we love" during the pandemic.

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