PARIS (AP) - Goodbye ``e-mail'', the French government says, and hello
``courriel'' - the term that linguistically sensitive France is now using to
refer to electronic mail in official documents.

The Culture Ministry has announced a ban on the use of ``e-mail'' in all
government ministries, documents, publications or Web sites, the latest step to
stem an incursion of English words into the French lexicon.

The ministry's General Commission on Terminology and Neology insists Internet
surfers in France are broadly using the term ``courrier electronique''
(electronic mail) instead of e-mail - a claim some industry experts dispute.
``Courriel'' is a fusion of the two words.