Google releases ‘most searched’ list

News

Matt Grainger Dec 11 2008, 12:14pm

Zeitgeist reveals the world’s interests for 2008

Google has unveiled its listings of the world’s hottest search topics, with former US republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin at pole position.

Politics and social networking feature strongly in the world’s most searched categories, with Barak Obama sitting in 6th place, while Facebook, German networking site Wer kennt Wen (Who-knows-Whom) and Polish site Nasza Klasa (Our Class) also make an appearance.

This year, for the first time, Google has also divided the findings in to national groupings, revealing that the UK’s most searched politician was, perhaps unsurprisingly Gordon Brown.

The financial concerns of 2008 can also be seen with the UK’s fastest rising financial topic being Icesave, the savings accounts offered by troubled Icelandic bank, Landbanksi.

“So, what do we in this global village have in common?” asked Google’s vice president of search products and user experience Marissa Mayer. “Mainly a strong interest in socializing and politics. Social networks comprised four out of the top 10 global fastest-rising queries, while the U.S. election held everyone's interest around the globe.”

See the list here.