All hail the year of the woman. This marks the first time in the history of The Lycos 50 year-end list that three women make up the top three most-searched terms of the year. Paris Hilton takes the honors this year as Web's Most Wanted Woman. When it comes to searches there is nothing as powerful as one of these fascinating women of 2005. Barbara Walters doesn't have anything on us...

Since Paris, Britney, and Pam have all been discussed at length, today we will focus on some of the other ladies that drive searchers wild. The break up of Brad Pitt and our girl Jennifer Aniston over that other woman, Angelina Jolie proved to captivate just about everyone. Last year Jolie was in the 60's while Aniston didn't even make our list. (Even Brad Pitt made the list but more on that on Monday when we discuss the most searched hunks of the web.) The 'Desperate Housewives' that web users wish lived in their neighborhood are sizzling Eva Longoria and the captivating Teri Hatcher. Hatcher saw a dramatic increase of 274 percent since last year. Also incredibly hot with web users in 2005 is last year's rookie of the year Lindsay Lohan. Lohan proved she had the right mix of beauty, talent, family feuds, personal drama and car wrecks to help her break into the top 10 most searched women of 2005.

2005 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
'Hey Lambs' is the cheerful greeting Mariah Carey exclaims to visitors to her official site. Mariah Carey is proving that at 35 years old, she is a force to be reckoned with, as her hit CD - The Emancipation of Mimi - reminds us why the voice is back. Sure Carey had some alleged infamous meltdowns, left wacky messages on her web site and starred in the Razzie-award winner Glitter, but until now, she hadn't released her 'spirit.' For those of you who've been living under a rock, Mariah is referred to as 'Mimi' by her closest friends. The stiletto-wearing, five-octave belting superstar is ready to take on some of the young stars who try to imitate her. Mimi's search traffic is up 267% since this time last year.

Mariah Carey also pulls ahead of all the other debuting ladies, as the biggest gainer this year. Additionally, searches for Carey doubled following multiple 'tabloid moments.' One was a rumored wardrobe malfunction. Photos of the malfunction then surfaced, depicting Carey's midriff on display at a recent event with what appeared to be airbrushed-on abs. According to an MSNBC report, observers of the photos claimed, "you can't have abs of steel and pillowy sides." In other Carey-related news, searches for Mariah also increased when news surfaced that her 43-year-old sister was arrested on Long Island and charged with prostitution. According to NYC newspapers, Carey's sister is HIV-positive, has lost custody of both of her children and is no longer close with her family nor her celebrity diva-sister.

ONES TO WATCH IN 2006
Each day, we examine the search logs to take your pop culture temperature. After comparing searches over the past year, we see two female music artist who are on fire. First up, Natasha Bedingfield. Searches for the latest music phenomenon, Natasha Bedingfield, have sent the mercury rising. Searches for Bedingfield have quintupled in the past weeks and for good reason. Bedingfield described her music as an "anthemic, quirky mixture of pop and soul."

Web users have spoken: Natasha Bedingfield has arrived. Taking a cue from Annie Lennox, Dido and Elton John, Natasha Bedingfield is the latest popular singer from the UK to cross the pond and continue her hit parade in the US. Her self-penned debut album, Unwritten, turned the UK on its ear and will likely do the same on this side of the world. As huge fans of pop-music (and much to our colleague's chagrin), we find her debut single "These Words" hard to stop humming. This 24-year-old songwriter's pen connects directly to her heart, which may have something to do with her psychology background in college, and her creative, musical family.

Natasha Bedingfield finds success based primarily on vocal talent and songwriting skill -- a rare gift in these pop-princess-machine-produced times. The follow-up single "Unwritten" is equally edgy, blending smart-pop-fusion lyrics and original beat, proving her desire for listeners to "identify with it, be inspired by it and dance to it." Songs with titles like "I Bruise Easily," "We're All Mad," "Frogs and Princes," "Silent Movie" and "Size Matters" gives an insight into her soul and the kind of songs she writes.

The other artist is 18-year-old female crooner and rap star, and girlfriend to Bow Wow - Ciara. Pop singing sensation Ciara also found her online popularity surge with the release of her female empowerment record Goodies. She's been dubbed as the First Lady of "Crunk & B." Crunk comes from melding the words 'crazy' and 'funk' and is a rowdy, party music that mixes rap, R&B and hip hop. Ciara search activity spiked later on when chat rooms swirled about gossip that the vocalist beauty was born a man. Allegedly she was on Oprah discussing her sex change operation. It turned out to be totally fabricated but sure did arouse searchers interest. Her latest search draw was the chart topping duet, with boyfriend Bow Wow, titled Like You.

Here are the Top 30 Most Searched Women of 2005 with last year's rank in parentheses:

1. Paris Hilton (2)
2. Pamela Anderson (8)
3. Britney Spears (4)
4. Jennifer Lopez (28)
5. Brooke Burke (12)
6. Tara Reid (37)
7. Angelina Jolie (61)
8. Lindsay Lohan (42)
9. Carmen Electra (32)
10. Hilary Duff (21)

11. Jessica Simpson (50)
12. Anna Nicole Smith (31)
13. Christina Aguilera (34)
14. Mariah Carey (-)
15. Anna Kournikova (51)
16. Jennifer Aniston (-)
17. Alyssa Milano (89)
18. Olsen Twins (49)
19. Madonna (90)
20. Beyonce Knowles (64)

21. Torrie Wilson (69)
22. Avril Lavigne (77)
23. Halle Berry (-)
24. Jessica Alba (-)
25. Jennifer Love Hewitt (-)
26. Janet Jackson (1)
27. Denise Richards (-)
28. Trish Stratus (-)
29. Chyna/Joanie Laurer(-)
30. Salma Hayek (-)

NOT SO HOT
They may have been hot in the past but this year they were lukewarm. Without another wardrobe malfunction Janet Jackson was the woman with the most significant drop in search activity. The other web darling that has lost significant search staying-power is Brooke Burke who has faded in the past months.

KEEP WATCHING:
That's not all for the Web's Most Wanted Awards. Monday we reveal the Top Men of 2005 and then the Top Bands of the Year. Check the content box on the top right for our other lists including top TV and movies, sports and more ones to watch, updated through December 23rd.

Dean Tsouvalas can be reached at dean.tsouvalas@lycos-inc.com