2001's most searched-for words, according to Google, Lycos and Yahoo:

Google's "top gaining" queries were:

1. Nostradamus
2. CNN
3. World Trade Center
4. Harry Potter
5. anthrax
6. Windows XP
7. Osama Bin Laden
8. audiogalaxy
9. Taliban
10. loft story

Year-End Google Zeitgeist

Lycos' top search terms of the year (with last year's rank in parenthesis) were:

1. Dragonball (2)
2. Britney Spears (1)
3. Napster (8)
4. Tattoos (7)
5. Osama bin Laden (-)
6. IRS (23)
7. Pokemon (3)
8. World Trade Center (-)
9. Nostradamus (-)
10. WWF (4)

Lycos Web's Most Wanted 2001

Yahoo!'s top ten were:

1. PlayStation 2
2. Britney Spears
3. WWF
4. Dragon Ball Z
5. Napster
6. World Trade Center
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
8. Dale Earnhardt
9. NASCAR
10. Internal Revenue Service

Yahoo! Buzz Index Yearly