Reports are rolling in from various corners of the world wide web that Google is testing full page image previews in search results. You’ll know if it’s turned on inside your browser if you see a little magnifying glass icon next to each link that’s returned after you search for something.
By simply hovering your cursor over one of the magnifying glasses, you’ll see a pop up image containing a full-page preview of whichever site gets linked. The words you’ve searched for apparently get highlighted within the image preview as well, which ought to make it easier to find the information relevant to you once you click over to the actual site.
TNW points out that Google appears to be testing this feature in certain parts of Europe and Asia more so than in the US. I don’t see it implemented myself in Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Firefox here in Boston.
What’s also interesting to note is that the popup previews appear to cover up the right-hand side of Google’s search results pages right where all the ads normally appear. That may draw some ire from AdWords users, though the fact that the previews are triggered by the specific act of hovering over the magnifying glass icon may make it less of an issue overall.
More on Techland:
Google Announces Instant Search Results Feature
Gmail Finally Offers Ability to Turn Off ‘Conversation View’