Google searches for ways to personalize its Web site

SAN FRANCISCO — Sprucing up its famously plain Web site, Google is offering a new option that plants its Internet search box in panoramic settings that change with the time of day and the outside weather.

The colorful graphics to be unveiled today represent the latest bit of pizazz to be served up on Google's home page as the company caters to the digerati who want to customize everything from their cellphones to their computers.

Google wanted to jazz up its site without making things too busy or commercial, said Marissa Mayer, the company's vice president of search products and user experience.

Reflecting its cautious approach, Google's first set of decorations consists of just six themes revolving mostly around landscapes. The settings include a Japanese tea garden, a beach, a city skyline and a bus stop. Google plans to introduce a few more themes each month and eventually may accept outside submissions, Mayer said.

Google has programmed its decorations to reflect what's happening in the outside world. Users are asked to enter their ZIP code so the digital drawings change from day to night and fluctuate with the weather.