It's called 'leet', a type of language using keyboard characters and substitutions. That Google page has been up for quite a while.
Leet writing yes, fo those that don't know what it is... **Shameless promotion here ** What is leet writing?
There was something on Break.com, I think a video and it showed how to do all these hacks. Search "Google Easter Egg" and it'll show up.
elite = leet = 1337 Which is like '90s speak. If you search the forum, this link has been here like 10 times... lol... so yes... we can believe our eyes. I've posted it before, but here again, since apparently people still haven't seen them : http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/ http://www.google.com/intl/xx-bork/ http://www.google.com/intl/xx-elmer/ http://www.google.com/intl/xx-piglatin/ http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/