Roger
The ads appear almost immediately on Google, but in order to be shown on their partner sites, it has to undergo editorial review. A week seems kind of long to me though. They usually review ads I edit within a day of them being edited.
We certainly aim for faster rather than slower - as it is to everyone's advantage to have the ads running on partner sites. ;)
If anyone ever feels it has been a particularly long time since their ads were submitted, and they are still not showing on partner sites, then I invite you to email using the 'Contact Us' link on each page of your account, to inquire.
BTW, please note that not every ad will go to partner sites, even after having been reviewed. Each partner chooses to show only a certain number of ads, so your ads must be in the appropriate position to go to partner sites.
For example, AOL shows four ads at the top of the page. In order to appear in those four spots on AOL, your ad would have to be approved and be within the four tops spots on Google.
AWA