Yandex recently announced its new search results concept – interactive snippets called “Islands”. This is part of a redesigned search results page. We last reported on it here.

Today, the company announced the release of Islands in beta. The feature is now available to users in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.

“In May we announced the concept of Islands, which allows people to start using web sites right within the search results,” said Yandex’s head of Islands, Taras Sharov. “It’s a concept in which we provide the platform, and site owners fill it with content. Today we’re taking the next step and releasing the beta version of Islands with the first interactive answers. We’ll gradually increase their number, adding only those that are genuinely useful.”

The interface changes based on the search query, Yandex explains. “It presents answers in the form of blocks, which can accommodate various kinds of information – from texts to videos, pictures, and interactive forms. For user convenience, similar blocks are grouped together and the navigation menu only shows those Yandex services that are relevant to the current query.”

The feature appears on web, image and video search. Other Yandex services will be added over time.

If you’re a webmaster, and you’re interested in taking advantage of the interactive interface that Islands offer users, you can develop your own island here.