The announcement is a sign that Google continues to hunt for new revenue sources.

The new ads start out as graphics, shaped like shopping bags, grocery carts, film reels or coffee cups, that appear on the map at the advertiser's location.

Clicking on the graphics reveals additional information, such as the advertiser's street address, Web site and phone number.

For now, the ads will only appear on Google Local, an Internet search feature that uses maps to show the location of businesses listed in the results.

But Dominic Preuss, product manager for Google, in Mountain View, Calif., signaled that it's likely that the Google Local ads are just the beginning, and the practice could spread to other Google features using maps.

"Our first plan is to put ads directly on Google Local maps," he said. "This does have broader implications, but we're waiting for a few months of feedback on this first."

Read details here about Google's earlier tests of 'map-vertising'.

The new Google ad initiative is in line with the company's goal of capturing even more Internet advertising spending, while simultaneously bracing itself for an inevitable slowdown in the growth of that spending.

In addition to beefing up its ad programs, as it is doing with this initiative, Google is also diversifying into new areas, such as testing a wireless Internet network.

It's almost a sure thing to expect Google's search engine competitors, namely Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN, to come through with their own versions of map ads, said a source familiar with the search engines' plans.

Read more here about Yahoo's local search feature—and its Google-like look.

"I would expect an answer from them very quickly," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to damage a business relationship with all three companies.

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