Poker generated more online interest than any other search term with Lycos users in 2006. Search activity for poker has been steadily climbing since it first made its appearance in the 2004 year end list at #10. It was the fourth most popular search term in 2005. Search activity for poker jumped 434 percent over the past year, trumping both Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton to claim the top spot in 2006. MySpace saw the biggest jump in search interest in 2006, up 568 percent from this time in 2005. Another newcomer to this year's top search list is Spyware, edging out long-time web darlings like Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and Dragonball, which all dropped significantly in 2006.

While Hurricane Katrina was the most searched news event in 2005, the news story resonating most with users in 2006 is the Iran conflict. This also marks the second year in a row that the War in Iraq failed to generate enough search interest to make it the number one news event with web users.

The top 10 news stories of 2006 are:
1. Iran conflict
2. World Cup
3. War in Iraq
4. Heather Mills/Paul McCartney divorce
5. Israel/Palestine conflict
6. Global warming
7. 2006 Winter Olympics
8. Debra LaFave scandal
9. Gas prices
10. Stem cell research

Stay tuned for the Lycos 50's list of top women, men, bands, fads, movies, TV shows, sports stars, and blogs of 2006.