Speculation about two mysterious barges docked in US ports has lit up the tech-world in the last two weeks, but guessing is still all anyone can do as the inexplicable ships give up none of their secrets.

Suggestions have run from paranoid to ridiculous since the barges first arrived at their new spots in San Francisco Bay and Portland, Maine. They could be new floating data centres, possibly created to roam the seas and harvest international communications – some say.

The data centre idea is not that far-fetched, given that Google does already hold a patent for exactly that. The mobile data-gatherer would be complete with wave-powered engines and saline to freshwater converters.

Others believe the boats will be used as a striking and effective mobile shopping outlet for the ‘Google Glass’ face-mounted computing device, which is set for release next year.

This week’s new suggestion is that the barges, which are currently topped by a large block seemingly made of shipping containers, could be used as a display or shop for any of the projects under development by Google X – the company’s secretive research division.

Google X is currently working on driverless vehicles, wearable computers, internet-providing weather balloons, a universal translator, and alternative energy systems.

One of the projects Google X has underway might dramatically improve the fields of design, imaging and engineering – but the company will not exactly say what it is. Titled only ‘Genie’, Google says the project –whatever it is – will create an “open cloud-based collaboration platform for building delivery.”

It claims the Genie project can significantly cut down on building design processes and time, potentially saving billions in the global industry.

Google is so confident that Genie will grant its wishes, it has created a separate company called Vannevar Technology Inc, which raised $2.2 million via the issuance of 14.4 million shares just after its establishment.

If Google were aiming to secure the hype created by peoples’ need to know things that seem secret, the plan has most certainly worked.

The barge of public intrigue is now firmly docked in Google’s port.