Extra Emoji in Gmail labs adds 1,000 emoticons

Google has a new Gmail labs add on for emoticon fanatics. When flipped on it adds an additional 1,200 or so to Gmail's emotion selector tool. New categories include things like national flags, more animals, road signs, and animations.

There are 13 categories in all, up from the two that come with the standard Gmail, which means it can take longer to find what you're looking for. All these additional emoticons actually come from Japanese phone carriers, each of which has its own set that works across all handsets. In Gmail's case, your recipient does not need to be a Gmail user to see them since they're simply embedded as image files.

Related: Looking for love in Vietnam: Don't forget to :)

With more emoticons you can skip real worlds in place of cute animals or symbols.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

[karpenterskids]

haha, I don't even recognise that first animal that "doesn't make us sick"....is that an...octopus? a bird? a crab, even?

I honestly have no idea. :]

[Josh.Lowensohn]

It is indeed an octopus (with four tentacles). The crab is in the square-faced category page I believe.

[Frost7331]

It's a cat.

[Josh.Lowensohn]

The cat is on the top left my friend.

[gerrrg]

sweet

[BlitzBoy1120]

lol i'll have a hard time finding the ones i want

[ErnieTheBear]

Hey, it's a great way to tell which e-mails can go directly to the trash.

[rich12313]

more useless things to distract people from working...wonderful