Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to the Google office in London yesterday. An image of the Queen has been incorporated into Google's UK homepage logo to mark her visit to the internet giant's British headquarters. (AFP)

LONDON • Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip paid a visit to Internet search giant Google's British headquarters in central London yesterday. To mark the event Google changed its famous "Google doodle" -- the way in which the company's name is displayed, on its British web site to incorporate the queen's profile as the second G, with a crown atop the E.

The royal couple met with software developers, senior managers and other staff at Google's offices. They were later reduced to laughter when shown a clip of a baby laughing on YouTube, which is owned by Google. "She did seem very very interested in everything going on," said Nikesh Arora, president of Google Europe, Middle East and Africa, who took the Queen on her tour of the company.

"She has used You Tube and has her own Royal Channel and understands what our products are about." Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, also spoke to several Google employees, at one point asking a sweatshirt-wearing developer: "Just come back from jogging?"