mpadded with mathbackground.
<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="block"> <mrow> <mi>a</mi> <mo>+</mo> <mpadded width="+1em"> <mi>b</mi> </mpadded> <mo>+</mo> <mpadded width="+1em" mathbackground="#80FF80"> <mi>b</mi> </mpadded> <mo>+</mo> <mi>a</mi> </mrow> </math>
Author: Bruce Miller