While the top of the Lycos 50 this week features all the usual December suspects, there are some real surprises down below.

Lord of the Rings (#5) proved to be as popular as we expected, but the most popular star of the film is quite a shock. It isn't lead actor Elijah Wood or elf queen hottie Liv Tyler. Instead, the breakout star of Lord of the Rings is English actor Orlando Bloom (#39), who plays the elf warrior Legolas. Bloom-mania is already spawning adoring websites.

This outpouring of interest in Bloom comes from out of nowhere -- shades of Sean Biggerstaff, who dominated Harry Potter searches despite a small role. Imagine our surprise when we noticed that Bloom's next appearance is a small role in Black Hawk Down, which is also the next movie for 2001's breakout heartthrob Josh Hartnett (#48).

That really makes Black Hawk Down an odd film to predict. It's cast of hot young beefcake should get it a fanatical female following, except its ultra-realistic war violence has been likened to watching the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan stretched out over two hours. The anticipation is pretty high though, as Black Hawk Down received more searches this week than either Vanilla Sky or A Beautiful Mind.

NORAD IS RAD: Christmas is #1 on our list for one more week, since this week's list reflects December 23, 24, and 25. Once again the NORAD Santa Tracker (#8) proves to be a popular Christmas-week search. This week we gave this website its own ranking for the first time (last year it was just included as part of Santa Claus).

NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canada aerospace defense organization, has "tracked" Santa's flight around the world for 46 years. What began as NORAD workers answering Christmas Eve phone calls from anxious kids has become a complex website in six languages, featuring computer animation of Santa flying through the air with F-15 escorts..

GAME GAINS: The week after Christmas always proves to be a big week for video and computer game searches, as gamers check online to find hints and strategies for their latest gifts. This week's big post-Christmas game seems to be the Gamecube's Super Smash Bros. Melee (#45). This game features all of Nintendo's well-known characters, from Donkey Kong to Pikachu, battling in an action-packed, seizure-enducing slugfest.

Final Fantasy (#9) also re-enters the top ten thanks to the release of the game's tenth installment, plus Return to Castle Wolfenstein (#35) and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (#46) make their first appearances on the Lycos 50 after floating just below the list the last couple weeks. Tony Hawk 2 was actually on the Lycos 50 after last Christmas.

DVDs must have also been a very popular Christmas present this year, as a number of stars from summer movies just out on DVD saw searches climb. Josh Hartnett returned to the Lycos 50, and Angelina Jolie (#51) and Halle Berry (#63) almost did.

DOPE DIP: Once again, marijuana (#50) searches dip in the week between Christmas and New Year's, while students are on vacation. In a related development, skateboarding (#47) also dropped 19 places this week.

SHORT SUBJECTS: There was surprisingly little interest in shoe bomber Richard Reid, who got only one-quarter as many searches as the passing of sportswriter Dick Schaap... We included searches for the movie Ali in our count of searches for Muhammad Ali (#44), who makes his first Lycos 50 appearance... Osama bin Laden (#21) is at his lowest rank since September 11... The Publishers Clearing House (#29) sweepstakes is always popular around this time.

NEW THIS WEEK: NORAD Santa Tracker, New Year, Publishers Clearing House, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Orlando Bloom, Audiogalaxy, Muhammad Ali, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, Josh Hartnett, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

BEARDTRACKER: Santa 79%, Osama 21%.

WHILE YOU WERE OUT: The numbers under "last week" reflect the Lycos 50 for the week ending December 22, 2001, although that list never was posted online.

TOMORROW: The top items from 2001 that never made the Lycos 50.