Data centers are boring places. Even Google's massive facilities — with all the colorful walls and pipes inside — can get a little stale and repetitive. So to liven up the vibe a little bit, the company has invited artists to create murals at several of its data centers. The artwork, already in Oklahoma here in the US and overseas in Belgium, is a great way of showcasing the talent of those participating, but beyond that, Google hopes that it'll lead visitors to maybe pay more attention to all the technology inside that powers the company's immensely popular services. "Because these buildings typically aren’t much to look at, people usually don’t, and rarely learn about the incredible structures and people who make so much of modern life possible," Joe Kava, the VP of Google's data centers, wrote on the project's website.

Google plans to expand the Data Center Mural Project to include other massive data buildings in Dublin, Ireland and Council Buffs, Iowa next. The project's website is definitely worth a quick look; it's nicely designed with some great behind-the-scenes videos, info on the artists involved, and photos of the people who every day work to ensure that Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, and everything else are working right for all of us. They're likely most appreciative of all to have this new artwork to look at.