Google barges to serve as showrooms

Google’s mystery barges, which prompted speculation about everything from offshore data centres to floating research labs, may serve a more prosaic role as upscale party venues.

The multi-storey vessels made of stacked shipping containers, one moored in San Francisco Bay, the other at Portland, Maine, are invitation-only luxury showrooms for Google’s Glass and other gadgets, said local San Francisco TV station KPIX.

The structures feature a top-floor “party deck”, complete with “bars, lanais and other comforts”, said the report.