U.S. singer Britney Spears topped a star-studded list of the top-10 name searches on popular Internet portal Yahoo! in 2005, the Silicon Valley company revealed. 

Spears' name has been the most searched term on Yahoo! for three of the past four years, having been displaced in 2004 by the television show "American Idol," the company said in a written release. ¡¡

"The Yahoo! Search 2005 Top 10 Searches shows us that people are fixated on the activities of pop culture icons," said the company's "buzz index guru," Erik Gunther.

"Everyone on the list this year had success either in music, film, or television so it appears that people this year are looking more at talent than controversy." ¡¡¡¡

Among the topics that rocketed in interest through the year were the legacy of television icon Johnny Carson, the death of Pope John Paul II, and the Grammy and American Music awards. ¡¡¡¡

The French Open, U.S. Open Golf, and basketball and U.S. football were "movers" that took turns as most sought topics on Yahoo!. ¡¡¡¡

Rounding out the list, which noted the most inquired-about topic of each month, were the woes of actress Cynthia Watros and country music singer Mindy McCready, along with Daniel Craig being chosen as the next James Bond and the death of actor Matthew McGrory.

Editor: Donald