Google Feeling Green: Testing Green Color Scheme

iCrossing reported noticing that Google is showing a green user interface within the Google Directory search results and also, in some occasions, for main Google web search results.

The most shocking green interface is when you look and compare the typical blue bar to a green bar when Google is showing yellow ads. Here are screen captures I posted at the Search Engine Roundtable, comparing the two looks:

The Green User Interface:

The Standard Blue User Interface:

I have never seen green used in this fashion at Google web search. But as iCrossing points out, Google has gone green in an extreme way at the Google Directory. For example, a search on ipods at the Google Directory shows a green background behind the search ads, as opposed to a yellow background. Here is a comparison of the new green background, in contrast to the standard yellow background:

The Green Ads:

The Yellow Ads: