1. A graphical user interface embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium and executable on a computer for displaying a search result received in response to a search-engine query, said graphical user interface comprising: a first display area of a search-results webpage that displays content received by a web browser running on the computer, wherein the content includes a hyperlink of a web page deemed to satisfy the search-engine query; a second display area of the search-results webpage that displays content retrieved in real time from a web server by another web browser running on a background thread of the web browser, wherein the content retrieved by the other web browser includes a thumbnail image of the web page displayed next to the hyperlink of the webpage, and wherein the hyperlink and the thumbnail image are displayed together as part of the search-results webpage; and a third display area of the search-results webpage that displays a preview-options GUI element, which allows a user to control a presentation of the thumbnail image in the second display area.