KEY POINTS:
American singer Chris Brown and Barack Obama topped New Zealanders' most searched celebrities on Google this year, while John Key was the most searched 'John', just ahead of St John and Elton John.
Google's top New Zealand search terms reflect what Kiwis wanted to find on the web in 2008. And being New Zealand search terms, it had a strong Kiwi flavour.
Rugby tickets topped the most searched tickets list, ahead of the All Blacks and the Warriors.
Heath Ledger was number one in 'died' searches, ahead of Sir Edmund Hillary in sixth, while Elvis and 'The Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin also made the list.
Miley Cyrus was the third most searched celebrity behind Brown and Obama. Britney Spears was sixth and Amy Winehouse ninth.
And the detox, lemon and free diets topped the most searched diets for 2008, while Valentines and Orbit were the most searched restaurants.
Here are some of the top 10 lists for most searched terms in 2008:
Top 10 searches on google.co.nz in 2008
1. games
2. bebo
3. youtube
4. Trade Me
5. lyrics
6. google
7. map
8. hotmail
9. tv
10. weather
Fastest rising searches of 2008
1. olympics
2. facebook
3. youtube
4. lotto
5. wiki
6. seek
7. miniclip
8. asb
9. tvnz
10. large hadron collider
11. heath ledger
12. obama
13. gossip girl
14. jonas brothers
15. miley cyrus
16. euro 2008
17. mathletics
Most popular 'who is' searches for 2008
1. who is the stig
2. who is the leader
3. who is obama
4. who is [in] parliament
5. who is miley cyrus
6. who is [the] governor general
7. who is [the] minister of education
8. who is valerie vili
9. who is god
10. who is owen glenn
Most popular 'tickets' searches for 2008
1. rugby tickets
2. all blacks tickets
3. warriors tickets
4. chris brown tickets
5. sevens tickets
6. cricket tickets
7. big day out tickets
8. rihanna tickets
9. super 14 tickets
10. westlife tickets
Most popular 'died' searches for 2008 (or rumours of)
1. heath ledger died
2. ishmeet died
3. soulja boy died*
4. bob marley died**
5. bernie mac died
6. sir edmund hillary died
7. freddy mercury died**
8. miley cyrus died*
9. elvis presley died**
10. steve irwin died**
*still very much alive
**died before 2008
Most popular celebrities searched in 2008
1. chris brown
2. obama
3. miley cyrus
4. rihanna
5. heath ledger
6. britney spears
7. sir edmund hillary
8. leona lewis
9. amy winehouse
10. lauren conrad
Most popular 'restaurants' searches for 2008
1. valentines
2. orbit
3. sails
4. wildfire
5. chow
6. yellow
7. harbourside
8. euro
9. merediths
10. soul
Most popular 'diets' searches for 2008
1. detox diet
2. lemon diet
3. free diet
4. soup diet
5. atkins diet
6. diet recipes
7. low carb diet
8. healthy diet
9. blood type diet
10. gluten free diet
Most popular 'Australia' searches in 2008
1. australia jobs
2. australia map
3. flights australia
4. ebay australia
5. white pages australia
6. australia weather
7. australia immigration
8. dance australia
9. australia news
10. real estate australia
Most popular 'john' searches in 2008
1. john key
2. st john
3. elton john
4. john cena
5. john deere
6. john mayer
7. john mccain
8. john lennon
9. john paul
10. dr john
Most popular 'gumboot' searches in 2008
1. gumboot song
2. the gumboot
3. taihape gumboot day
4. gumboot rack
5. gumboot dancing
6. gumboot throwing
7. fred dagg gumboot
8. gumboot tea
9. blue gumboot
10. golden gumboot
