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This question probably has a simple and immediate answer which escapes me now. (And, I should admit, it's more my curiosity than anything else.) The only natural way to construct a group structure on the cartesian product $G\times H$ of two groups $G$ and $H$ (in particular, ``natural'' to me means that on each factor the group product should be the original one) is the semi-direct product in the case when one group acts on another one by automorphisms. Are there any natural constructions of a group structure on $G\times H$ where neither factor is a normal subgroup?

Update: I was pointed out that the notion of Zappa-Szep product that appears in the answer given by Steven Gubkin is also mentioned in an earlier MO discussion; I thought I'd link it here for some sort of connectivity.

This question probably has a simple and immediate answer which escapes me now. (And, I should admit, it's more my curiosity than anything else.) The only natural way to construct a group structure on the cartesian product $G\times H$ of two groups $G$ and $H$ (in particular, ``natural'' to me means that on each factor the group product should be the original one) is the semi-direct product in the case when one group acts on another one by automorphisms. Are there any natural constructions of a group structure on $G\times H$ where neither factor is a normal subgroup?

Update: I was pointed out that the notion of Zappa-Szep product that appears in the answer given by Steven Gubkin is also mentioned in an earlier MO discussion; I thought I'd link it here for some sort of connectivity.

This question probably has a simple and immediate answer which escapes me now. (And, I should admit, it's more my curiosity than anything else.) The only natural way to construct a group structure on the cartesian product $G\times H$ of two groups $G$ and $H$ (in particular, ``natural'' to me means that on each factor the group product should be the original one) is the semi-direct product in the case when one group acts on another one by automorphisms. Are there any natural constructions of a group structure on $G\times H$ where neither factor is a normal subgroup?

This question probably has a simple and immediate answer which escapes me now. (And, I should admit, it's more my curiosity than anything else.) The only natural way to construct a group structure on the cartesian product $G\times H$ of two groups $G$ and $H$ (in particular, ``natural'' to me means that on each factor the group product should be the original one) is the semi-direct product in the case when one group acts on another one by automorphisms. Are there any natural constructions of a group structure on $G\times H$ where neither factor is a normal subgroup?

Update: I was pointed out that the notion of Zappa-Szep product that appears in the answer given by Steven Gubkin is also mentioned in an earlier MO discussion; I thought I'd link it here for some sort of connectivity.

This question probably has a simple and immediate answer which escapes me now. (And, I should admit, it's more my curiosity than anything else.) The only natural way to construct a group structure on the direct product $G\times H$ of two groups $G$ and $H$ (in particular, ``natural'' to me means that on each factor the group product should be the original one) is the semi-direct product in the case when one group acts on another one by automorphisms. Are there any natural constructions of a group structure on $G\times H$ where neither factor is a normal subgroup?

This question probably has a simple and immediate answer which escapes me now. (And, I should admit, it's more my curiosity than anything else.) The only natural way to construct a group structure on the cartesian product $G\times H$ of two groups $G$ and $H$ (in particular, ``natural'' to me means that on each factor the group product should be the original one) is the semi-direct product in the case when one group acts on another one by automorphisms. Are there any natural constructions of a group structure on $G\times H$ where neither factor is a normal subgroup?