GOOGLE Maps fans have just noticed something quite amusing when searching for Area 51.

The highly classified US facility is shrouded in mystery, leading many to believe it hides alien technology or extraterrestrial life.

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And Google is certainly playing up to it.

Searching for Area 51 on Google Maps comes up with an unexpected surprise.

If you drag the so-called yellow man in the far right corner to do Street View, it’ll transform into a UFO.

It’s actually been doing this for a while now and is one of several Easter eggs.

For example, if you put in Loch Ness it turns into a strange green monster, in a nod to the popular myth.

And over Hawaii it changes into a mermaid.

In the past, the yellow man also transformed into a Queen-like figure when hovered over Buckingham Palace or Sandringham.

But sadly it was removed following the Queen’s death last year.

Area 51 is located in the southern portion of Nevada, just 83 miles north-northwest of Las Vegas.

It’s officially a United States Air Force facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range.

The airbase is commonly believed by many to be the home of the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.

The US Air Force acquired the site in 1955.

However, the CIA never acknowledged the existence of the facility until June 2013, following a Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2005.

The base has never been declared a secret facility,…