As the comments on the original article mention, Google seems to be answering two different questions with geolocation. The first is which of their localized w

As the comments on the original article mention, Google seems to be answering two different questions with geolocation. The first is which of their localized web sites to display. The second is which language to display that site in. Defaulting to the localized site almost certainly helps them comply with local censorship laws, as well as offering culturally and geographically relevant content. Once you've made that choice, displaying, say, Google Japan in English might not make very much sense, so I can see why Google has merged them. As a frequent international traveler, I would definitely appreciate a setting that permanently locks my Google to the US site in English.