The Amazon Echo is finally being released in the UK and Germany

Amazon has announced that it will release its Amazon Echo speaker in the UK and Germany, over a year after it was first made available in the US.

The Echo is a bluetooth speaker that plays music, reads out the news and sports scores, and answers questions, all using Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa.

Echo was first released in the US in June 2015, but Amazon announced on Wednesday at a press conference in London that it's coming to two European countries "this Autumn."

Amazon also announced a white version of the Echo on Wednesday, available in the US as well as the UK and Germany.

A number of British companies are developing support for the Echo so their services can be accessed from the device in the UK, including media company The Telegraph, food delivery business Just Eat, music streaming service Spotify, and rail network National Rail.

Here's how the white model looks alongside the traditional black one:

It had already been possible to use an Echo in the UK, even though the device wasn't actually sold here. Online guides sprang up explaining how to get around the fact that the product technically needed a US address.

There had been speculation about the European release of the Echo ever since Amazon sent out invites to its London press event. The background image for the invite appeared to look slightly like the blue glow from an Echo.