Google has begun serving graphic display ads next to results in its Image Search service, according to a report in TechCrunch.

The new ads, which mark Google's increasing interest in expanding its display presence, feature a thumbnail picture and a shaded, yellow background to distinguish them from natural results.

While Google had been talking about display ads for Image Search as early as May, the company hasn't exactly launched the product.

"As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and to help users find new and better ways of getting the information they're looking for, we are currently conducting a test to show ads on the results pages for Google Image Search," Google said in a statement released to Search Engine Land.  "The experiment is restricted to U.S. advertisers who are using formats including text ads and static image ads.