Antarctic 'sea monster' seen in Google just rock

A viral video from Antarctica purportedly showing an "kraken sea monster" has turned out to be a rock.

The clip, spotted on Google Maps near the appropriately named Deception Island, showed the mysterious object measuring 23m across.

It was said to be causing "a massive disturbance" to the sea hundreds of metres around it, when it was first noticed in April.

Some social media users speculated it could be a Kraken, a mythical huge octopus with the ability to ensnare and drown ships, or some distant relative of the Loch Ness monster.

Neither are true, according to news website Popular Science.

The object is a feature called Sail Rock, part of a cluster of rocks known to be off Deception Island.

It is not the first time Google Earth has got tongues wagging about conspiracies or mythical creatures.

In 2009, some users claimed that they had found evidence of the lost city of Atlantis off Hawaii.

Google later said it was the result of a "data artifact".