By: Matthew Moore
From: January, 2010

Anyone who clicked on the box without entering a search term on Jan 1st and 2nd was met with a flurry of multi-coloured seasonal wishes, which scattered stars across Google's stripped-down portal as they burst on screen.

The display was programmed to continue - apparently without end - until users clicked on the screen again.

Google fans had expected some kind of New Year's Day stunt after working out that the countdown ticker that appeared when users carried out the same operation in December was due to expire at the turn of the decade.

Some people even brought forward the time on their computer clocks, which determined the progress of the countdown, to catch an early glimpse of what Google had in store.

The search giant has released no statement concerning the Happy New Year messages or the hidden clock, but it has a record of dropping pranks and hidden treats known as "easter eggs" into its services

It also marked the New Year by changing the doodle on its homepage to incorporate fireworks and a clocktower showing midnight.