A debate here on Tnooz in October 2009 saw all manner of opinions flying in about the merits - or not - of placing content above the imaginary fold-line on a website.
But it is probably worth applying the same scrutiny to search engines.
Until reasonably recently, firing in the search term "hotel new york" on Google, for example, would see organic results taking up the vast majority of top half of the page, displayed alongside paid-for AdWords in a narrow right-hand navigation bar.
Not any more.
The addition of maps has fundamentally changed the make-up of search results - so much so that all the inventory above the fold is commercially supported.
So while many will see this as a natural inevitability of Google's creeping commercialisation, does it effect how users interact with natural results or increase the apparent relevancy or perceived reliability of paid-for links?
Some more on this subject here from SEO Book.