Search terms on the rise in 2009: Michael Jackson, Facebook, Twitter

(AFP/Carl de Souza)

Michael Jackson tops Google's list of fastest rising global searches in 2009.

The pop star is followed by social networking site, Facebook and its invite-only Spanish social networking rival, Tuenti.

In 2009 social networks have been responsible for some of the biggest buzz phrases on the internet, with three of the top 10 most searched for terms falling into the category.

However, in 2009 Michael Jackson's sudden death caused a massive rise in searches, breaking all kinds of records and shutting down websites across the world. It was an event that, for many people, characterized 2009.

Michael Jackson topped both Yahoo! and Bing's lists of most popular search terms for 2009.

"As millions of fans said goodbye to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson led the list of our top 10 fastest rising queries across the globe. And a new star was born, too - quirky pop singer Lady Gaga became a search sensation the world over," wrote Google in their December 1, Zeitgeist blog post.

Fastest Rising (Global)
1. Michael Jackson
2. Facebook
3. Tuenti (a Madrid-based social networking site often called the "Spanish Facebook")
4. Twitter
5. Sanalika (a Turkish website)
6. New Moon
7. Lady Gaga
8. Windows 7
9. dantri.com.vn (a Vietnamese news website)
10. Torpedo Gratis (a Portuguese website that lets you send free text messages)

Fastest Rising in Entertainment (Global)
1. Michael Jackson
2. Transformers
3. Eminem
4. Naruto Shippuden
5. Beyoncé
6. peliculas id
7. Paranormal Activity
8. anime online
9. Natasha Richardson
10. Poker Face lyrics

Fastest Rising in Food & Drink (Global)
1. acai berry
2. picnic
3. ??????(CookPad in Japanese - Japan's largest recipe site)
4. Tesco direct
5. Senseo
6. peanut butter recall
7. Nespresso commande
8. Habibs delivery
9. mocktail
10. MasterChef australia

Fastest Falling (Global)
1. Beijing 2008
2. euro 2008
3. Heath Ledger
4. Barack Obama
5. Amy Winehouse
6. kraloyun
7. Dailymotion
8. Bebo
9. Wii
10. eMule

A list of 2009's country-by-country web searches can be found here: http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/press/zeitgeist2009/index.html