Easily start the screensaver in Ubuntu Linux

The command to start the Gnome screensaver is:

gnome-screensaver-command -a

I tried to make this happen using keyboard shortcuts first, but couldn't find a way. So I went with the next best thing: a launcher in the Gnome panel.

Right click the Gnome panel and click "Add to panel...". Pick "Custom Application Launcher". Another window appears. Fill it like this:

Type: Application
Name: Screensaver
Command: gnome-screensaver-command -a
Icon: <pick any icon...>

Hit OK and now you can start the screensaver by clicking the new icon.