Church of England offers prayers read by Amazon's Alexa

The Church of England is offering worshippers the chance to use voice-activated virtual assistants to pray. People can ask Amazon's Alexa device to read a prayer of the day, the Ten Commandments or the Lord's Prayer or to recite grace before a meal. But the smart speakers will also have a "church near you" function to encourage people to visit their local church. The move is part of an online campaign by the Church after figures showed fewer people were attending services. The Church of England also hopes to also offer the service through Google Play in the future.