Quote:
Originally Posted by murg
Actually, not.
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Well in that case FYI the term was officially coined in 1801 when the parliaments of Ireland and England passed the "Act of Union" uniting the two kingdoms.
The term "United Kingdom" in my experience has been in common usage and interchangeably as far back as I can recall. Things and events that have reinforced usage have been the Northern Ireland troubles in the media, sporting events and such where we represent ourselves as the United Kingdom (just had a nostalgic cringe as I remembered "Jeux Sans Frontieres" there) and the fact it's stamped on the front of our passports. So common usage definitely predates the Internet and any potential American involvement
However I do think that the Internet has played it's part in making the use of "UK" reach greater prominence Worldwide simply by the expedient of being far easier to type/text
