Google doodles celebrate birthdays

Google has used its doodle to mark two birthdays - its own, and that of Chinese philosopher Confucius.

Confucius was born in 551 BC and his birthday is observed on 28 September by those using the Gregorian calander.

It is a public holiday in Taiwan, though in mainland China the philosopher is honoured on the anniversary of his death, 1 October.

Google has marked the occasion with a doodle featuring an animated figure of Confucius in place of the 'l' in Google.

The company has also been celebrating its 11th birthday with a doodle containing a second 'l' next to the first, to look like the number 11.

The doodle appeared on the Google homepage on Sunday 27 September.

Earlier this month, Google displayed a series of cryptic doodles related to the author and visionary HG Wells and his classic novel The War Of The Worlds.