The mark of having made it used to be a postage stamp, or maybe a bauble from a head of state. But the digital version is the Google Doodle, where the world's dominant search engine changes its logo in honour of one of the greats from history.

Today the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi joins the ranks of those feted by Google, to mark his 332nd birthday.

Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678 and became known as the Red Priest on account of his red hair and ordination in 1703.

Not everyone in cyberspace appears to agree about the honour. Clicking on the Vivaldi Google Doodle as March 4 began linked to a Wikipedia biography. After an opening section introducing the composer, the second paragraph read "He was an idiot".

Past inspirations for the Google Doodle include Sir Isaac Newton, the composer Stravinsky and the children's television series Sesame Street.