KEY POINTS:
Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was among the most popular subjects typed into the Google search engine in the United Kingdom this year.
A survey by the internet group found the life and death of Irwin was surpassed only by video searches - such as those found on YouTube.com - and queries about the soccer World Cup in the list of the UK's top 10 fastest-growing query subjects, British media report.
Irwin, who was killed in September when a stingray barb pierced his chest, also featured on the list of most searched-for celebrities.
Tom Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes was the most popular celebrity wedding among UK "Googlers", followed by the nuptials between Cruise's ex-wife Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban in Sydney.
Google examined billions of searches from the past year to create a snapshot of queries for its 2006 End of Year UK Zeitgeist.
- AAP
