Google Australia opened the doors to its new Sydney headquarters today and it was easy to see why the company was found by BRW to be the best place to work in the country - the office appears more like a day-care centre for adults than a workplace.



The new building, located in the harbourside suburb Pyrmont, now houses 350 Australian Googlers who have been the driving force behind several global Google products including Google Maps and the forthcoming Google Wave, which seeks to reinvent email.



But the media pack touring the new building today could be forgiven for wondering how any work gets done, as staff are constantly tempted by copious free perks, including games rooms, snack rooms filled with junk food and several chill-out areas built around themes such as parks and the ocean.



When they're not hard at work, Australian Googlers can relax in a hammock, bean bag or lounge chair while playing any of the three major games consoles, pool, table tennis and any number of board games. A live webcam allows them to see if the equipment is being used without leaving their desk.



Google chefs provide free breakfast, lunch and dinner, and dishes are colour-coded green, yellow or red to allow staff to gauge how healthy their meal choice is. A new term, the "Google 15'', was coined to describe the weight people add upon starting at Google.



"People tend to go nuts when they first start and eat a lot,'' Google Australia's first employee, Kate Vale, said.



The campus-style office, the first six-star Green Star building in NSW, was officially opened this morning by the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce. Much of the decor is green-themed, with the reception area resembling a rainforest and a plethora of plants dotted all over the office.



Google used the event to announce that it would add timetable information for Sydney's light rail and monorail network, and Canberra's bus network, to Google Maps this month.



Google Maps users can already use the service to plan public transport trips in Adelaide and Perth.



Google also announced a partnership with Fairfax Media to provide free access to digitised archival copies of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age - dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s - through Google News and Google Search.



Overseas, Google's fun-filled campuses and playful decor have helped fuel Google's run of good PR.



Journalists have long drooled over the perks offered to US Google employees including a workout room, laundry room, massage room, video games, ping pong, pool table and snack rooms stocked with free food and drinks.



Today's event sought to extend the hallowed perception of the Googleplex to Australia. The new office contains a number of Australian-themed areas, including offices with picnic benches, fish tanks, Australian flora, the beach-themed "Cafe' Esky", a sports-themed mini kitchen and a games room named "The Rissole".



The Aussie-inspired meeting rooms - with names such as Billabong, Eucalyptus, Iced Vo-Vo and Howzat - leave little doubt that Google is going for a distinctly Australian look. Indeed, some of the rooms were built to resemble dunnies.



"It's an architectural style that can best be described as Googley," Google Australia head of engineering Alan Noble said.



The only perk Australian Googlers miss out on is a company gym, but, in addition to free meals, all staff are provided with free private health cover.



After an initial gaffe, when she pronounced Google Australia CEO Karim Temsamani's name as "Tebasabi'', Ms Bryce praised Google for providing the space and time "for Australian ideas to emerge, develop and proliferate".



"I can imagine few other companies that have their own verb,'' she said, noting that the term ``Google'' had entered the vernacular.



"[It's] a mark not only of the evolution of our language - however weird - but of the way Google has influenced our culture, our society, our habits and speech and our way of engaging with the world and the web.''



In April, a BRW study, conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute, found Google was the No.1 company to work for in Australia.



The commendation was quite a feat considering Google Australia started in Australia only in 2002, with a single employee selling advertising from her lounge.



The company operated from an office building in Darling Park before the move to Pyrmont.



The study surveyed 15,000 Australians, who lauded Google's perks including its free cafeteria, ping-pong tables and beanbag-filled meeting rooms.



Earlier, Google's US campus topped a 1000 Best Place To Work survey conducted by the US magazine Fortune.



