The internet search giant Google has been helping people find things for 20 years.

The company is marking 20 years in business, with a characteristically colourful doodle.

It shows some of the most popular searches from all over the world in the last two decades.

Some 20 years ago, two Stanford Ph.D. students launched a new search engine with a mission to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible.

But much has changed in the intervening years: Google now offers search services in more than 150 languages and in over 190 countries.

Google's St Patrick's Day doodle in 2010 | Image: Google

In 1998, before Google was even incorporated, the concept of the doodle was born when its founders - Larry Page and Sergey Brin - played with the corporate logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada Desert.

They placed a stick figure drawing behind the 2nd "o" in the word 'Google', and the revised logo was seen as a comical message to users that they were 'out of office'.

While the first doodle was relatively simple, the idea of decorating the company logo to celebrate notable events was born.

Since then, the team has created over 2,000 doodles around the world.

A special webpage has been set up to take a look down memory lane - including Ireland-specific designs.