I almost missed this. The Guardian’s online section has expanded to provide a new service, Guardian America, for the many American readers of The Guardian.

I’ve noticed the increasing fascination with America among particularly leftwing Brits: it stands for much of what they despise, much of what they think is wrong with the world, and therefore they’re understandably obsessed with American current affairs, culture, and how it relates to ideology. I’ve also noticed that The Guardian has done best out of all UK newspapers in embracing Web 2.0 technology and culture: its editorial has expanded hugely into the ‘Comment Is Free’ section, which reads like a daily blog with comments and a focus on the online edition as an interactive media by itself. Many of these contributors’ opinions have focused on American issues, so I suppose this was a natural move for The Guardian.

“We’ll be adding, as we already have been, American commentary to the Guardian’s groundbreaking Comment is free section.”

I notice today a piece by Josh Freedman Berthound questioning an editorial decision by Guardian America:

“Language is an essential part of national identity, so why is Guardian America going to comply with the newspaper’s British English guidelines?”

It’s an interesting question, since it will be for American readers. I made the same decision 3 years ago when I moved to the United States: on this blog I still use British English for consistency.

Well, welcome Guardian America. I look forward to tearing your arguments apart!