Google takes the lid off mystery barge

Google has finally come out on its plans for a pair of floating barges off either coast of the US (See: Google linked to mysterious floating structure at San Francisco bay)

The internet search giant told The Register that its two vessels, officially known as Google Barges, would, in fact be designed to serve as nautical showrooms for the company's latest and greatest products.

"A floating data center? A wild party boat? A barge housing the last remaining dinosaur? Sadly, none of the above," the web search kingpin said.

"Although it's still early days and things may change, we're exploring using the barge as an interactive space where people can learn about new technology."

According to commentators, the statement should end widespread speculation on what Google intended to do with the barges.

The vessels seen in the waters of the San Francisco Bay last month, drew attention from both the public and authorities. Meanwhile, a second ship would be brought to the waters off coastal Maine.

The sighting of the barge had set off speculation about their use which covered everything from floating nightclubs to covert research and storage units to the consensus belief, which turned out to be that the units would function as moving demonstration venues for the company's hardware projects.

Google said it was exploring using two large barges on the East and West coasts as interactive learning centres.

Google had been building a four-storey structure in the heart of the San Francisco Bay for several weeks, and kept people guessing about their purpose. The company used barges to get round building permits and public plans that are mandatory for land-built structures.

San Francisco city officials responsible for land use and state officials responsible for the bay had said all along they did not know what was being built there.

Also Coast Guard inspectors who visited the construction sites could not discuss what they saw and according to Lieutenant Anna Dixon non-disclosure agreements had been signed, though these were not necessary, and that the Coast Guard, as a practice, did not share proprietary information it came across during inspections.

According to commentators, if Google wanted to operate an on-barge interactive learning center in the San Francisco Bay, the firm would eventually need to get permission from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

The company had last year proposed building a land-based "Google Experience Center" which would operate as a private museum and demo space, part of  new $120-billion Googleplex headquarters it was building in Mountain View, California, where it was headquartered.