Interactive Google doodle sparks web mystery
Updated on 07 September 2010
The newest Google doodle featuring animated coloured balls sparks mystery on the internet, as amid speculation that the design honours its 12th birthday, the web giant tells Channel 4 News to "watch this space".
Visitors to the search engine website were today greeted by a dozens of coloured balls spelling out the word Google.
The multi-coloured dots disperse around the page when a cursor is moved close to them. They then return when the mouse is still.
Google, who changes its logo to mark various celebrations and anniversaries, offered no apparent reason for today's interactive balls.
The web giant declined to comment on speculation that the logo was designed in honour of Google's 12th birthday - the company was officially incorporated on 7 Sep 1998.
A cryptic statement was released saying: "Today’s doodle is fast, fun and interactive, just the way we think search should be."
A spokeswoman told Channel 4 News to "watch this space".
Among theories circulating internet forums is a suggestion that the logo could be an exercise encouraging users to update their web browsers. Users have reported that the animation is not visible to those using early versions of Internet Explorer.
Today's Google doodle is the third interactive design released since the logo changes began to appear.
In May the first design to be fully interactive appeared in the form of an interactive game to celebrate the 30th birthday of Pac-Man. The Pac-Man character could be moved around using the arrow keys on a keyboard.
The first Google doodle was published in Aug 1998 after the search engine's founders designed one for the Burning Man Festival.
Most recent appearances have included national celebrations, the World Cup and the birthdays of various figures such as Mary Shelley, Frida Kahlo, and Hans Christian Anderson. The 71st anniversary of the Wizard of Oz was also recently celebrated in doodle form in August.
The most recent interactive design marked the anniversary of the discovery of the "buckyball" - a form of carbon composed of atoms which look like a molecular football. Google's middle O was replaced by a spinning orange ball which could be manipulated using a mouse.
A catalogue of past doodles can be viewed at the Google website.
