Google Google is an Internet search engine , e - mail service provider , online map provider , video sharing , and social networking website . Founded by students at Stanford University in 1998 , it is the most visited website in the world . The company also owns the video sharing site YouTube . Google ' s very first paid employee was Craig Silverstein , who founded the rec . arts . henson + muppets newsgroup . In 2006 Google ' s Internet satellite and map service , Google Earth , received the Jim Henson Honor ' s special Technology Honor . The award is given annual to individuals and products that " reflect the core values and philosophy of Jim Henson and the company he founded . " The Jim Henson Honor ' s announcement stated that " Google Earth has used technology to bring the world a little closer and make the ends of the earth not seem quite so far away . Frankly , it is just the coolest thing out there . " Sesame Street ' s 40th Anniversary . On the Google main page , anniversaries , special events , famous birthdays , and other occasions are highlighted with special artwork incorporated into the Google logo , referred to as " Google Doodles . " On Wednesday , November 4th , 2009 , Google featured Big Bird ' s legs with a link to search results for " Sesame Street ' s " . This was followed by representations of other Sesame Street characters on following days . Sesame Workshop ' s online store made a T - shirt with each design for free with any order including 40th Anniversary merchandise on the corresponding day ; for example , the Big Bird design on November 4 . These continued on for a week . Google ' s official blog commented on the company ' s partnership with Sesame Workshop and featured a link to the song " Google Bugle " , an unusual use of the term " google " 16 years before the founding of the search engine . For Sesame Street ' s final doodle on November 10th , 2009 , the blog announced a special birthday surprise , offering a high resolution gallery of the week long doodle celebration . All twelve images are offered as larger , higher resolution images for download . As an added bonus Google even gave a sneak peak into John E . Barrett ' s photo shoot that yielded the final doodle . On " Jimmy Kimmel Live " , Kimmel showed Big Bird a picture of the day ' s Google Doodle , the one of Big Bird ' s leg . Big Bird sarcastically commented " How flattering . " International . On November 4 , some international versions of Google used a special logo depicting a character from a local version of " Sesame Street " in place of the Big Bird logo , while the United Kingdom and other regions of Europe used a logo marking the 20th anniversary of British cartoon characters Wallace & Gromit . Starting November 5 , all international Google sites ( with the exception of those that do not use the standard Google logo ) used the same Sesame Street logos , starting with Cookie Monster . On November 9 , Google ' s German page used a logo honoring the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall . On November 10 , the final Sesame Street doodle made its way to the German Google page as well . Jim Henson ' s 75th Birthday . To honor Jim Henson ' s 75th birthday on September 24 , 2011 , The Jim Henson Company and Google partnered up to create a special Google logo with six original characters , corresponding in shape and size with the " Google " lettering , that the users could puppeteer themselves . Using a mouse and / or a keyboard , the characters would look up , down , and sideways , and open and close their mouths . Special animations could be discovered as well . Search Stories . In April 2010 Sesame Workshop posted two " Sesame Street " - themed Google Search Stories videos on their YouTube Channel . The videos were made with YouTube ' s Seach Story Video Creator which allows users to create search videos based on Google ' s popular Super Bowl ad . The videos posted show comical in - character searches by Bert and Cookie Monster . The characters Google such queries as " foods dat start wit letter c , " " why me eyes so googly ? , " " what to feed pet pigeons ? " and " tips for living with a messy roommate . " Language Tools . Google is available in various languages , including fictional and comedic languages such as Klingon , Elmer Fudd , and Pirate . One of the faux - languges , Bork , bork , bork ! , is based on the Swedish Chef ' s faux - Swedish . The feature translates the Google site and search results into the comedic language . Breakthrough Learning Forum . In October 2009 , national leaders in education , science , technology and philanthropy partnered for the Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age Forum hosted by Google . The forum set out to discuss and develop recommendations for using digital media for education reform . Included in the forum were the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop , Common Sense Media , the MacArthur Foundation , and Google . The forum was held at the Google campus in Mountain View , CA from October 27 - 28 , 2009 . Presenters at the two day event represented a wide range of education and technology fields ; Joan Ganz Cooney ( " Sesame Street " co - founder ) , Gary Knell ( Sesame Workshop CEO ) , and Grover ( " Sesame Street " Muppet ) made appearances and presentations at the event . Google + Hangout for " The Muppets " . On November 7 at 4 : 30pm PST / 7 : 30pm EST , " The Muppets Google + Hangout " was held on Google + social network . Included in the chat were Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy , Walter and Jason Segel , as well as James Bobin and Nick Stoller . A Google a Day . During the week of November 28 , 2011 , the stars of " The Muppets " shared the daily search questions in Google ' s A Google a Day game - many of which were Muppet related questions . International Women ' s Day . On March 7 , 2014 , the Google Doodle celebrated International Women ' s Day with a special video . The video featured an appearance by Chamki from " Galli Galli Sim Sim ' . Google Play . Google Play is Google ' s distribution platform for mobile apps , movies , books and other products . On March 18 , 2014 , Google Play published a video consisting of a " Moving Portrait " of the Muppets , promoting " Muppets Most Wanted " .