Mark it in your calendars, folks, June 6th is officially "World IPv6 Launch" day. A coordinated launch of the next-generation Internet protocol. On that day, various companies and corporations will begin to close the gaps and begin to deliver, true, end-to-end, next-generation Internet.

IPv6 is the replacement for the current version of IPv4 that is running out of addresses. The original IPv6 specification was actually published more than 15 years ago now, but it's only just this year that we'll finally start to see the beginning of it. IPv6 ushers in the ability to connect together billions of devices, both fixed and mobile, from the largest cloud-based systems, to the smallest Internet-connected sensors.

Google have now joined in on World IPv6 Day, with most of their services, including Search, Gmail, YouTube and more, will be available to the world over IPv6 permanently. Most users won't notice the change, but if you want to test your connection, you can visit ipv6test.google.com. It will be years before the Internet is fully transitioned to IPv6, but that's what the future holds for the Internet.