Chuckling Queen gets a fit of the Googles as she comes face-to-face with YouTube's famous laughing baby

The Queen kept an appointment in cyberspace yesterday when she visited the headquarters of Google.

Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, she spent more than an hour being shown how the world's most popular internet search engine is run.

But when the royal party were shown a YouTube clip of a baby with an infectious laugh, they were reduced to giggles by the footage.

The Queen uses a computer to upload a video to the Royal Channel on You Tube video alongside co-founder of YouTube Chad Hurley

Google giggle: The monarch smiles at a video of a baby laughing on You Tube

The visit was celebrated by an image of the Queen being incorporated into Google's UK homepage logo.

The 'Google doodle', which changes periodically to mark national holidays or anniversaries of major events, features a profile of the monarch and a crown just for today.

Nikesh Arora, president of Google Europe, Middle East and Africa, who took the monarch around his company's UK headquarters in Victoria, London, said: 'She did seem very very interested in everything going on.

'She has used YouTube and has her own Royal Channel and understands what our products are about.'

Staff say the Queen is a relatively proficient user of the internet.



She sent her first electronic message in 1976, during a visit to an Army base, and, at the age of 82 regularly emails grandsons William and Harry.

According to aides, however, it is her 87-year-old husband who has really taken to the technology.

'The Duke is a very competent surfer and regularly uses the internet to send e-mails and research his speeches,' said one.

The Duke of Edinburgh is given a glimpse into the world behind Google

Royal Google: The search engine giant has paid tribute to the Queen to mark her visit to the London headquarters

The royal couple were treated to a demonstration of Google's search capabilities that have become a staple tool for millions of web users just 10 years after the organisation was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in California.

Before the presentation began, the Duke chatted to Matthew Trewhella, a developer advocate who promotes his organisation's products to companies.

Philip asked the Google worker, who was dressed casually in a hooded top, chinos and trainers like many of his colleagues: 'Just come back from jogging?'

The royal couple were shown searches made for a number of topics, from their nearby London residence Buckingham Palace, Royal Corgis - a favourite of the Queen - and one of the capital's most famous landmarks, Big Ben.

During the tour the Queen was shown a series of demonstrations explaining Google's various operations from Google Earth, where users can access detailed maps and satellite images of the planet, to a mobile phone using the search engine's technology.

Internet royalty: Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Google's London headquarters in Buckingham Palace Road, where she found herself amused by YouTube videos

But when the Duke asked staff to find their own offices in Buckingham Palace Road, the site but not the building, which has been constructed in recent years, could be seen on Google Earth.

The royal party later chatted to 16 schoolchildren, all winners in a competition to design new doodles for Google.

The royal couple were also introduced to Chad Hurley, who co-founded YouTube, the popular video-sharing website bought by Google in 2006.

He showed the Queen and Duke footage of a baby sitting in a high chair being made to laugh by an unseen person making a "boo" noise.

The clip has been viewed more than 63 million times and the Queen turned to Philip and said 'lovely little thing isn't it', adding: 'Amazing a child would laugh like that.'

The monarch has her own Royal Channel on YouTube which was launched last Christmas and has been viewed 1.6 million times by internet users - making it one of the most popular on the site.

Peter Oakley known as Geriatric, who has millions of hits on YouTube, talking with the Duke of Edinburgh during the visit

In 2006, the Queen's Speech was made available as a podcast for the first time and in 1997 the monarch launched the official royal website during a visit to Kingsbury High School in north-west London.

During the visit she also chatted to ordinary people who have become YouTube stars after uploading footage of themselves on to the site.

Peter Oakley, 81, from Derbyshire, who uses the web name geriatric1927, has posted more than 100 video diaries in more than two years and has attracted millions of hits.

He said: 'I started almost by accident, I didn't know anything about YouTube.

Welcome break: Google staff welcome then say goodbye to the Queen

'I was interested in slideshows and Photoshop and I needed to incorporate some video into it and then had the thrill of putting up a video on YouTube.

'At the time I was 79 and all these social networking sites were for young people, but I and YouTube got a lot of attention and things started to grow.

'I talk about growing up during the war - about air raid shelters, rationing, the influx of American GIs and how we as children reacted to them, things like that.'

Before the Queen left she used a computer mouse to upload a new video on to the royal website.

The footage was from a Buckingham Palace reception held in 1968 for sportsmen and women who had taken part in that year's Olympic Games.

See the video here:



History of the Google doodle

The 'Google doodle' has become a famous part of the company's history, with the standard Google logo changing to reflect national holidays, major events or historic dates, usually including a humorous twist.