Alexa transforms into Santa Claus himself! Amazon's smart assistant gets a new voice for the festive season

 Alexa, Amazon's virtual assistant, can transform into Santa Claus especially for this festive season, the tech giant has revealed. 

Users can say 'Alexa, enable Hey Santa' to hear him tell a story, sing a song, crack a joke, set a timer and more, as if he's speaking down the phone from the North Pole.  

The fun festive feature is sure to be particularly exciting for youngsters who want proof that Father Christmas exists in the run-up to the big day. 

Users can also ask Alexa a range of Christmas-themed questions such as 'Alexa, where is Santa?' or 'Alexa, how many days until Christmas?', although these will return answers in Alexa's standard robotised female voice. 

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The new Alexa feature lets families interact with Santa over the festive season, as if he's speaking down the phone from the North Pole

'We've introduced Santa, a new personality for Alexa that will bring Christmas cheer for the whole family,' Amazon said.

'You can ask Santa to tell you a story, sing a song, crack a joke, set a timer, and more, just say "Alexa, enable Hey Santa" to get started.' 

Amazon has a long list of commands that will return answers in Santa’s voice, and another list that returns answers in the usual female Alexa voice.

Commands that start with 'Hey Santa' such as 'sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas' and 'tell me about your reindeer' will return responses in Santa's voice. 

Alexa as Santa can also sing has a festive duet with US singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor, by simply saying 'Hey Santa, sing your duet with Meghan Trainor'.