KEY POINTS:
Internet users are game-playing music lovers who like to keep in touch with friends, seek out a bargain and weather watch.
At least that's the profile gleaned from a new analysis tool from internet giant Google, Insights for Search, launched this month.
But the service dispels the widely held belief the internet is mainly used to access sex sites. Neither sex nor pornography are in the top 10 lists for any regions in New Zealand.
The top three search terms from Kiwi users over the past year were games, Bebo and lyrics. Others included YouTube, TradeMe, Hotmail, Google and weather.
People searching for cheap air fares led to Pacific Blue and Air New Zealand's Grab A Seat service joining the list of "rising searches".
Taranaki came out on top in searches for sex, followed by Auckland and Manawatu-Wanganui.
Taranaki also topped the chart for porn, real estate, and buying and selling on TradeMe.
When it came to sport, Waikato was out in front with Auckland fifth. For rugby there was most interest from Otago, which also led the way in politics.
Lyrics, the third most popular search term for New Zealanders, doesn't even rate a mention in the Australian top 10. Aucklanders showed the most interest in that topic, with the words of American R&B singer Chris Brown proving particularly popular.
The Olympics provoked more interest in the South Island than the North Island during the past year, with Nelson, Otago and Canterbury topping the chart.
Otago websurfers appeared to be the most parochial, their home province heading their favourites list.
Internationally, the most searches for New Zealand came from New Zealand, followed by Fiji, Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The service also shows clear spikes in searches for terms connected with major news events such as the Winston Peters controversy and the Olympic Games.
Google spokesman Sean Carlson said the service was designed with advertisers in mind. "It provides more flexibility and functionality for advertisers and marketers to understand search behaviour. Of course, web users around the world have found it fascinating as well."
Carlson said he had noticed a surge in searches for Olympic golden girls Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, although the latter took a slight lead over her sister for a few days in mid-August.
The Flight of the Conchords' popularity followed a similar path. Searches for Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie had been almost equal, although Jemaine was more popular in December and January before Bret took over.
Searches for New Zealand chardonnay outnumbered those for sauvignon blanc for the past year - except in early November.
Marmite beat Vegemite hands down, except for a spike in 2006, but the reverse is true in Australia.
In the past month, Prime Minister Helen Clark has been searched for more than National Party leader John Key - although he held the lead for a short stint in July.
