Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden is the most popular male of 2001, according to searches by Lycos users.

How out of nowhere is bin Laden? In 2000 he received as many searches as the movie You've Got Mail and the nation of Burkina Faso. This year bin Laden searches went up roughly 26250 percent.

Since September 11, bin Laden has equaled his 2000 search total, on average, every 7.5 hours.

Here are the Top 20, with last year's rank in parentheses:

1. Osama bin Laden (-)
2. Eminem (1)
3. Tupac Shakur (2)
4. Dale Earnhardt (-)
5. Howard Stern (10)
6. Nelly (16)
7. George W. Bush (7)
8. Michael Jackson (8)
9. Elvis Presley (13)
10. Lil' Bow Wow (-)

11. Allen Iverson (-)
12. Michael Jordan (15)
13. Shaggy (-)
14. Brad Pitt (18)
15. Josh Hartnett (-)
16. Ja Rule (-)
17. Bob Marley (-)
18. DMX (3)
19. Marilyn Manson (-)
20. Aaron Carter (-)

HE KNOWS STUFF: We limit our top men and women to people who died after 1970, which is why Nostradamus is missing from the list despite topping the Lycos 50 with ridiculous search numbers after September 11. You'll find him on a bonus list over to the right, the top historical figures of the year.

WHAT: Approximately one-third of Shaggy searches ask for lyrics, more than any other musician.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Well, duh. But you also have to hand it to Pearl Harbor star Josh Hartnett, who in June came from nowhere to achieve the highest ranking ever for an actor (#11 that week).

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR: We're stunned to see Marilyn Manson on this list, since his record tanked. Also, Bob Dylan (#26) saw queries rise 50 percent.

HOT IN 2000, NOT SO HOT IN 2001: Lots of men fell off the list, including Al Gore (-86%), Sisqo (-79%), Kid Rock (-76%), Ricky Martin (-63%) and above all little Elian Gonzalez, who lost 95 percent of his searches from 2000.

STRANGELY ABSENT: Rap insiders consider him the master of his craft. When it comes to Internet searches, however, Jay-Z clearly stands behind a number of his compatriots in hip-hop, particularly Eminem and the under-appreciated Nelly.

ONES TO WATCH 2002: The summer's hottest movies will star Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and Toby Maguire as Spider-Man... Vin Diesel will take the next step towards stardom in XXX (an action flick, not a porn movie)... The Rock has his first movie lead in The Scorpion King... He won't ever make the Lycos 50, but Rob Van Dam is poised to be the next wrestler to have Rock-like status in the public consciousness... If we bomb Iraq, look for lots of Saddam Hussein searches.

ONES TO WATCH 2001: We predicted Russell Crowe would make the top 20, and he was #23 this year... We were right about rapper Ludacris, who became a star, but wrong about rapper Xzibit, who did not... We were really wrong about actor Chris Klein, whose big breakout performance in the Rollerball remake was pushed back until 2002. Poor Chris -- the film looks like an embarrassment of Ishtar proportions.

Tomorrow is our third list, The Web's Top Women of 2001. Will Britney Spears make it three straight years at #1?