IBM Data Center Shown at Disney's Epcot Center

An energy-efficient data center is currently on display at Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World, as part of IBM's SmarterPlanet exhibit, according to a report by Data Center Knowledge.

The attraction is intended to give visitors a greater understanding of the increasing role technology plays in their daily lives, helping to tackle challenges such as reducing traffic and crime, and improving food safety and local water supplies.

The high-profile exhibit is a good indication of how data center technology has grown immensely over the years, with the Internet becoming an integral part of everyday life and the economy.

According to Gary Cohen, IBM GM of global communications sector, the SmarterPlanet exhibit "brings to life the many ways in which IBM technologies are invisibly woven into the way people live, work and play" and give visitors a better idea of the "increasing role technology will play in improving the quality of life for people across the world."

The exhibit's data cenetr is a version of IBM's Scalable Modular Data Center, which is a 500 or 1,000 square feet facility.

The Smarter Data Center also demonstrates the company's Cloudburst technology, which helps customers quickly develop and deploy applications for cloud computing.

With far more computing power available than required to operate the exhibit, IBM will donate unused computing resources to the World Community Grid, which allocates thousands of computers from around the world to accelerate medical, humanitarian and environmental research.

Meanwhile, younger visitors can try out the Walt Disney Imagineering-created Runtime exhibit, which uses personalized avatars as part of an interactive video game that walks them through the history of computing.