While a clean page consisting of a dozen or so vertically categorized links has been something of a godsend for search, Google hasn't given up on the idea of building a better mouse trap. Recently, the search leader created an experimental search page, where users can go to test new layouts for one of the internet's oldest functions.  

Andrew Hogue, Google's technology leader for the project, announced the experiment by posting three new search views on the company's blog.

In the first view, Hogue describes a new mapping feature that should be of interest to local marketers. The Map view includes local search results on the left and a map displaying the search results geographically around the user. According to Hogue, the map view allows users to better synthesize information already found on the web by localizing data with the user at the center of the equation.

Timeline view arranges information chronologically -- for both historical and upcoming events -- with a timeline above the search results on the page.

The third experiment, dubbed Info view, doesn't really deviate from Google's traditional layout. What it does offer is a kind of "sneak peek" at the relevant users through a panel on the right side of the page. Rather than relying on text with a few highlighted keywords below the search results, users can select one of the links in the panel to display more specific information like dates, images or locations. In Hogue's example, users who search for "Sputnik," the Soviet satellite, can toggle their search results to get images or the date of launch without having to visit the page.