Mystery of Google's crop circle and UFO doodle

A crop circle spelling Google with the "L" missing underneath a UFO is the latest of the search engine's doodles to baffle web users.

This latest in a series of mysterious changes to Google's famous logo is visible only to users of the UK version of the site. It has sparked dozens of online rumours about what the internet giant could be planning.

The new logo shows a flying saucer hovering over a field. The word "Google" is spelt out by a series of crop circles, but the letter "L" is missing, leading to speculation that the search company could be teasing web users ahead of the launch of a new project or service.

Clicking on the logo takes users through to a search page for "crop circles", including links to photos of the phenomenon and websites dedicated to explaining the origins of these mysterious shapes.

Ten days ago, Google sparked a flurry of internet speculation when it changed its logo to show a flying saucer "abducting" the letter "O" in its tractor beam. Clicking on that doodle took users through to a page about "unexplained phenomenon".

Google has refused to comment on the reasons behind its alien-themed doodles. A spokesman for the search company joked that it would leave web users to their own UFO theories.

Some have speculated that it's a publicity stunt to promote a new movie, such as District 9 or Avatar, while many more believe Google is simply responding to a surge in searches for information related to aliens and the unexplained.