1. A method comprising: reserving virtual address space for a virtual image corresponding to a texture image; issuing a texture sampling request for a texel of the virtual image; receiving notification of a page miss in response to the texture sampling request; mapping an address associated with the page miss to a tile of the virtual image; fetching the tile from a compressed image corresponding to the texture image; decoding the fetched tile based on a decompression algorithm; storing the decoded tile as an entry in a cache; mapping the entry to a corresponding location in the virtual image; and re-issuing the texture sampling request.