Microsoft is testing a new format that will turn search ads into display ads, reports John Battelle's Searchblog.

When a user hovers over a small icon next to a search ad, that icon explodes into a full-sized display. This is expected to increase click-throughs on search ads.

The ads leverage capabilities from Microsoft's recently-released Silverlight Rich Media creation tool.

Reports of the format testing come from a demo that took place at Microsoft's Strategic Accounts Summit.