tedster - 10:45 pm on Oct 27, 2010 (gmt 0)

Yes, the experimental phase for this did begin back in August. Now it is a full scale rollout - something Google is calling "Place Search"

Place Search results will begin appearing automatically on Google when we predict you’re looking for local information. In addition, you’ll find a new link for “Places” in the left-hand panel of the search results page so you can switch to these results whenever you want. [googleblog.blogspot.com...]

See the linked article for a screenshot. What the static screenshot can't show is that the Map scrolls with the page, even covering the Adwords at times.