Context :

Aims : We report the results of an exploratory program to image the extended circumstellar envelopes of asymptotic giant branch ( AGB ) stars in dust-scattered galactic light .
The goal is to characterize the morphology of the envelopes as a probe of the mass-loss process .

Methods : The observations consist of short exposures with the VLT and longer exposures with 1–2 m telescopes , augmented with archival images from the Hubble Space Telescope .

Results : We observed 12 AGB stars and detected the circumstellar envelopes in 7 .
The detected envelopes have mass loss rates \ga 5 \times 10 ^ { -6 } M _ { \odot } yr ^ { -1 } , and they can be seen out to distances \ga 1 kpc .
The observations provide information on the mass loss history on time scales up to \sim 10 , 000 yr. For the five AGB envelopes in which the circumstellar geometry is well determined by scattered light observations , all except one ( OH348.2 $ - $ 19.7 ) show deviations from spherical symmetry .
Two ( IRC+10216 and IRC+10011 ) show roughly spherical envelopes at large radii but asymmetry or bipolarity close to the star ; one ( AFGL 2514 ) shows an extended , elliptical envelope , and one ( AFGL 3068 ) shows a spiral pattern .
The non-spherical structures are all consistent with the effects of binary interactions .

Conclusions : Our observations are in accord with a scenario in which binary companions play a role in shaping planetary nebulae , and show that the circumstellar gas is already partly shaped on the AGB , before evolution to the proto-planetary nebula phase .