WebProNews

For at least the next three years, Google will play a significant role in the delivery of New Zealanders' mail.  The Postal Services Group of New Zealand Post has entered an agreement that'll have it putting Google Apps in front of 2,100 employees.

This counts as Google's largest commercial deal yet in New Zealand or Australia.  It's supposed to save New Zealand Post (which is a state-owned enterprise) in the neighborhood of $2 million over the course of three years.

Also, Postal Services CEO Peter Fenton said in a statement, "This will increase our ability to work collaboratively."  And he claimed, "Google Apps will help us retain our people and attract the next generation of talented graduates."

If all goes according to plan, then, Google will have achieved quite a lot while in a very public position.  So it's possible that this development will lead to other businesses in the region adopting Google Apps.  Other postal entities (or entire cities) might follow suit, too.

Of course, Google will probably first have to spend at least a few days shooting down conspiracy theories about how it might now have access to people's physical mail.