MEDIA ADVISORY, Dec. 20, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The War in Iraq and the US Presidential Election duke it out with Britney Spears and Janet Jackson as this year's Hot Topics
WHO: Ask Jeeves(r) at Ask.com(r)
WHAT: Ask Jeeves today announced the top trends of 2004
based on the billions of searches conducted on
Ask.com this year year.
Analysis of the most frequent searches reveals that consumers are searching the Internet for all the latest news and celebrity gossip. While the war in Iraq and the 2004 Presidential Election were the most popular news searches, Janet Jackson came in a close third for her "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. "Celebrity justice" was a constant theme in 2004; Kobe Bryant, Martha Stewart, and Michael Jackson were also among the most popular searches this year.
Political searches were dominated by the presidential election and the candidates themselves, but other issues on the minds of many Americans were same-sex marriage and, of course, the war in Iraq. Americans turned to Ask Jeeves to get the latest information on the hostage crises in Iraq, the battle in Fallujah, Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda, and Muqtada al Sadr, the Iraqi insurgent responsible for multiple terror attacks in the war-torn region.
According to Ask Jeeves, the most popular celebrities of 2004 were Britney Spears (who also beat out other celebrities for most requested picture search) and Usher. The BIG celebrity news is that it looks like people have finally fatigued with all things Jennifer Lopez; the actress/singer/fashionista fell off the top ten people search list this year, with her latest love interest, Marc Anthony, not even gracing the Top 50.
Following is a list of the most popular searches on Ask Jeeves in 2004:
2004 Top News searches
1. Iraq
2. Election 2004
3. Janet Jackson
4. Scott Peterson Trial
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Mars Rover
7. Martha Stewart
8. Same Sex Marriage
9. Michael Jackson
10. Ronald Reagan
2004 Top Celebrity searches
1. Usher
2. Britney Spears
3. Paris Hilton
4. Janet Jackson
5. Hilary Duff
6. Orlando Bloom
7. Christina Aguilera
8. Pamela Anderson
9. Michael Jackson
10. Eminem
2004 Top Movie searches
1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2. Spider Man 2
3. The Passion of the Christ
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
5. Kill Bill Vol. 2
6. Shrek 2
7. Troy
8. Fahrenheit 9/11
9. Shark Tale
10. The Incredibles
2004 Top Picture searches
1. Britney Spears
2. Christina Aguilera
3. Orlando Bloom
4. Paris Hilton
5. Usher
6. Johnny Depp
7. Eminem
8. Pamela Anderson
9. Hilary Duff
10. Jessica Simpson
2004 Top Destination searches
1. Hawaii
2. Las Vegas
3. Florida
4. Disneyland
5. Mexico
6. Greece
7. Japan
8. Italy
9. France
10. Spain
2004 Most Popular things to do on the Internet
1. Look up Music Lyrics
2. Find Maps/Get driving directions
3. Play Games
4. Learn Jokes
5. Get a Weather Forecast
6. Research Baby Names
7. Read your Horoscope
8. Find a Job
9. Download Ringtones
10. Download Music