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Spears most-searched for item on the Web
From Paul Bond
LOS
ANGELES—Britney Spears reclaimed the top spot on Yahoo’s annual list of
the most-searched for terms on the Internet, with all 10 top positions
coming from the world of entertainment. Spears has been No. 1 for three
of the last four years, upended last year by the search for “American
Idol,” Yahoo said Wednesday.
The list “shows us that people are fixated on the activities of pop
culture icons,” said Erik Gunther, guru of what Yahoo calls its Buzz
Index. Rounding out the Top 10 list, in order, are 50 Cent, Cartoon
Network, Mariah Carey, Green Day, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Eminem,
Ciara and Lindsay Lohan.
Gunther said that it was consumer interest in Cartoon Network’s lineup
of raunchier fare known as Adult Swim that made it the only nonhuman to
crack the Top 10 list. In the sports category of searches, NFL scored
highest, just ahead of NASCAR and Major League Baseball. Tennis pro Anna
Kournikova and auto racer Danica Patrick were the only humans cracking
the Top 10, which consisted more typically of sports leagues and teams.
Movies honours went to “Star Wars,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Batman
Begins,” the not-yet released “Superman Begins” and “Spider-Man.” In the
news-event category, the most searches were for “tsunami” followed by
“Iraq” and” Michael Jackson trial.” “Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie” was
No. 6, “President Bush” was No. 9 and Tom Cruise was No. 10.
Searchers of still-photos on the Internet were most interested in
Simpson, Hilton, Spears, Lohan and Jolie, while video searchers went for
Spears, “anime,” “funny videos,” Simpson and 50 Cent. The most-searched
for TV shows were “American Idol,” “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and
“Days of Our Lives.”
Yahoo also measured the biggest movers each month. News of his death
made “Tonight Show” legend Johnny Carson the big mover in January, for
example. Other top movers were Daniel Craig in October, after it was
learned he’d assume the role of secret agent 007 in the upcoming James
Bond film and “Lost” actress Cynthia Watros so far this month, whose
arrest for driving while intoxicated sparked a flurry of Internet
activity. |