Refine Your Image Search With Google Image Swirl

Google released Image Swirl today, a new experimental Labs feature designed to make it easier to find related images on the internet and tease out elusive images from the millions already on the web.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

Like its cousin Image Search, Image Swirl is super easy to use. Type in one of more than 200,000 search terms and the web app serves up thumbnail images grouped in batches of other images with broadly similar qualities. As you drill down, each batch is then sub-grouped with even more relevant attributes, and so on.

This is a pretty spiffy idea, and appears at least as useful as the current image search methods — if not more. It’s perfect for those times when you want a specific type of picture — the Statue of Liberty, for instance — but want to eliminate certain attributes, like photos taken at night.

Is this experimental feature something you’d like to see graduate from Labs? Let us know in the comments.

Google Image Swirl [via Official Google Blog]