Google Visual Search rumours and mystery doodles: What is Google playing at?

Google has been acting a little mysteriously this week and with a press conference due tomorrow (Wednesday 8 September) it seems like we won't have to wait much longer to find out what's going on.

The first piece of the puzzle arrived last week when a select number of guests were sent invites to a Google press conference in San Francisco. The invites said that Google would be sharing its "latest technological innovation" and would be offering "an inside look at the evolution of Google search".

It also said it was an event "you won't want to miss".

The second piece came on Tuesday when the search engine's usual homepage logo was replaced by an interactive design containing what look like coloured balls or balloons that you can move around the page using a mouse.

Normally doodles are designed to mark a certain occasion - anniversaries, birthdays etc - but there's been no explanation this time. When Web User asked Google about it, its reply just deepened the mystery. A spokeswoman told us: "Today's doodle is fast, fun and interactive, just the way we think search should be."

She added, "so watch this space," refusing to comment further. All very intriguing.

This has clearly led to a lot of web speculation about not only what the doodle represents but if it's related to what Google is announcing.

One rumour doing the rounds is that Google will be unveiling visual search at Wednesday's event. It bought the Like.com visual search engine at the end of August and it may be that it has taken this technology to develop its search service.

Visual search lets you search for something by image rather than text. An Amazon iPhone app launched last October contains visual search - users can take photos of products and Amazon then searches its catalogue for online matches.

There is also speculation that the Google doodle and press conference have something to do with an HTML5 announcement. Google Chrome is already optimised for HTML5 and Arcade Fire recently used it for an interactive music video project.

It has even been suggested that the doodle - which only appears on the UK and German Google homepages and only works on certain browsers - is a way of encouraging people to upgrade their browsers or simply just to celebrate the company's 12th birthday on 7 September.

Google has announced that it hopes to launch a music service - Google Music - by Christmas. This will rival Apple's iTunes, but these plans were first announced in May so it seems unlikely all the current mystery surrounds that. 

At a similar event last year Google announced Google Squared, Rich Snippets and Google Sky but the cloak-and-dagger way of building this year's event up suggests that there might be something a little more groundbreaking on the cards.

To quote Google, watch this space.