When Google's were revealed last year, the advanced hardware technology from the search giant came as a shock to many. The revelation kicked off speculation that Google had a facility where such developments are common, and today the New York Times reports that such a secret lab does in fact exist, and it's called Google X.

The last time we heard the name Google X was , when a Google engineer posted an experimental Web site designed to show a Mac OS X-like interface for the company's services. Interestingly, the site was quickly removed just a day later, with no explanation.

Now a report in the Times reveals that Google X is actually a hush-hush research and development lab where Google uses its billions to experiment and invent what may be world changing technologies of the future.

According to the report, Google X has engineers working on everything from helper robots and Internet-enabled refrigerators to dinner plates and even space elevators (a concept popularized by science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke).

Talk of such a lab instantly brings to mind the innovations that came out of the legendary , the ultra-secret research facility that gave birth to Ethernet, laser printers, object-oriented programming, and the graphical user interface that helped Steve Jobs revolutionize computing with Apple. PARC still exists today, as well as the innovation-obsessed MIT Media Lab, but the discovery of Google X is significant in that it represents a leading company, central to daily Internet use, boasting some of the top talent in Silicon Valley and the world. Also revealed in the report was one of the Google X project leaders, Sebastian Thrun, a world-renowned artificial intelligence and robotics expert.

When pressed for comment on the lab and the potential costs of maintaining such a facility, Google spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker would only tell the Times, "While the possibilities are incredibly exciting, please do keep in mind that the sums involved are very small by comparison to the investments we make in our core businesses."

According to one source, Google X has one office at the company's Mountain View headquarters and another devoted to robotics at an undisclosed location. Despite Google's desire to keep the lab secret, all this mystery and intrigue surrounding Google X will likely serve to only heighten interest in what the search company has up its sleeve for the future. But if robot cars and Internet-powered kitchen appliances are just a sample, then we all have reason to be very excited about what comes next.