The barge floating in the San Francisco Bay that news reports speculated could be a Google data center in the makings is actually a mobile showroom for Google products with a party deck, according to a local news report citing unnamed sources who have been on the barge.

The idea is to build a facility that can be taken anywhere around the world (by land or by sea) and show the company's wares, such as Google Glass, to select clients, the report by KPIX 5 says. The project was conceived at Google's secret Google[x] facility in Mountain View, California.

Earlier this month, a report by CNET set off a flurry of speculation about the barge, moored next to Treasure Island, which separates two spans of the Bay Bridge. Author of the report was able to confirm through anonymous sources that the project was Google's, but could not find evidence that indicated what it was for.

Google does have a patent for a floating data center that uses tidal waves to generate electricity. Whether the company has actually built such a facility is unknown.

The building atop the barge in the San Francisco Bay consists of modified shipping containers. The approach will allow Google to disassemble it and ship it where it needs to on barges, trucks or rail cars for quick assembly, sources told KPIX.