BILLUND, Demark, January 28 /PRNewswire/ --

- World-Famous Building Brick Celebrated on its 50th Birthday With a 
Google Doodle

A LEGO(R) brick-inspired 'Doodle' appears today on the Google homepage to
the mark the 50th anniversary of the world-famous creative building brick.

Google, the world's largest internet search engine, uses 'Doodles' on the
homepage to mark special days, celebrate original, innovative artists and
thinking, and, as is the case of the LEGO brick, to celebrate quirky, fun
icons that resonate with people around the world. Google's 'Doodle" team
embraced the idea of a LEGO 'Doodle' because of the special role LEGO
building has played in Google's 10-year history.

Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, used the iconic building
bricks as the external low-cost and expandable casing for 10 4-GigaByte hard
disks when they were busy developing the Google search engine. The original
server casing still exists and is on display as part of an exhibition
chronicling 80 years of computing machines at Stanford University in
California's Silicon Valley. Additionally, LEGO bricks can be found scattered
around Google's many offices to provide creative inspiration, and have
reportedly been used in Google's college graduate recruiting exercises to
test potential candidate's creative horsepower.

"We are honored to have the iconic LEGO brick celebrated in this way by
Google, because we know the 'Doodle' is reserved for only the most special of
themes," says JÞrgen vig Knudstorp, CEO of LEGO Group. "Mr. Brin and Mr. Page
are prime examples of who we often refer to as 'builders of tomorrow' -
people who embrace the power of creative exploration and curiosity that leads
to lifelong innovation and creativity. The LEGO brick - the heart and soul of
the LEGO Group - is a catalyst for that development, and we're proud that it
has also inspired the innovation that is the heart and soul of Google."

The LEGO Group will celebrate its legacy of inspiring and developing the
builders of tomorrow this through several important milestones, including the
50th anniversary of the LEGO brick, with a variety of events including a LEGO
BRICK ROAD tour around shopping centres and events and a world
record-breaking attempt to build the largest LEGO tower at LEGOLAND this
June. Two products have been developed to commemorate the brick's
anniversary: an open-ended LEGO set with a classic village theme including a
gold 2x4 LEGO brick launches in August, and a one-of-a-kind Town Plan,
featuring city hall, cinema, petrol station, car wash, two vehicles and eight
minifigures, including a letter from Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the company's
owner, is now available on http://www.LEGOshop.com

The LEGO Group (http://www.LEGO.com) is a privately held, family-owned
company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the
group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for
children, employing approximately 4,500 people globally. The LEGO Group is
committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities
through its products, which can be purchased in more than 130 countries.