Clippy returns - as an emoji
Clippy the paperclip was a simplistic virtual assistant who offered tips and advice to Microsoft Office users, from 1997 and until the mid-2000s.
Clippy would replace the existing paperclip emoji in its Microsoft 365 products, including its cloud services and the modern, online version of Microsoft Office, the technology giant tweeted, but only it that tweet received 20,000 "likes" - and within hours, it had surpassed 100,000.
Other Microsoft accounts joined the marketing move, ahead of World Emoji Day, on 17 July, with the official Xbox account chiming in with: "Free Clippy!"
Later, a blog post from the company's design team revealed that the redesign was part of a wider move to turn all of the Microsoft emojis into more colourful 3D versions.
While doing the mass redesign, "we had to use this opportunity... so long flat, standard paperclip, and hello Clippy!" wrote art director Claire Anderson.
