Comeback Queen Britney Spears has retained the top spot she claimed in 2007. From self-saboteur and unstable parent figure to caring mother and reformed party girl, Britney has retained her position as the most searched on celeb.

At the young age of 28, Heath Ledger was gone too soon. The greatest games on earth continued their appeal in Beijing. Yummy mummies Angelina Jolie and Jessica Alba may be less controversial than Britney, but like her, they're always sought after. Stephanie Rice emerged from the pool to enter our collective imagination as the 'Golden Girl', winning several gold medals for Australia.

World news proved concerning. The global economic downturn has everyone talking 'recession', with financial markets hitting new lows. Americans elected Barack Obama as their first Black president. Australians' interest in this U.S. election was in part fuelled by Sarah Palin. Natural disasters hit with the Chinese earthquake and the Burma Cyclone causing many deaths. Meanwhile, at the heart of attempting to answer the big scientific questions was the Large Hadron Collider (LHC); a mass scientific experiment sparking both anxiety and anticipation.

Britney is a powerful one-woman conglomerate who has effectively created a brand and turned it into a cultural phenomenon. The chasing pack sees celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Miley Cyrus, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Aniston, 'High School Musical 3' cuties Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron, as well as Megan Fox, Katie Holmes, and power tot Suri Cruise fuelling users' voracious appetite for celebrity gossip. Who they're seeing, what they're eating, the intense fascination with celebrity culture continues unabated. Though Britney is still on top of the Search pile, the younger celebs (aka Miley Cyrus, even Suri Cruise!) are gaining ground - and power.

Heath Ledger's premature death rocked Australians to the core. Kevin Rudd solidified his position as the new progressive PM with the Sorry speech where he apologised for the Stolen Generation. The detention of convicted terrorism supporter Australian David Hicks by the U.S. Government in Guantanamo Bay and protracted legal process drew widespread criticism.

Pleasure turned to tragedy in the Sydney Harbour boat crash. Americans may have had Watergate but Iguanagate kept Australian journalists busy writing about the alleged altercation between MPs and staff of a Gosford nightclub.

The TV series 'Underbelly', depicting Melbourne's almost decade long gangland wars, was enmeshed in a real life legal quagmire, whilst criminal Tony Mokbel was a fugitive until his recapture in Athens. The Iraq War prompted further anti-war sentiment, and the Catholic faith took centre stage with World Youth Day and the visit from Pope Benedict XVI to Sydney. Meanwhile, Australian motorists continued to be outraged with escalating petrol prices.

It was hard to initially imagine how the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis could impact Aussies, however, Australia is now ensnared in the global financial turmoil. Users' general curiosity about the unstable financial markets turned to preoccupation with how to survive the downturn at an individual level, with searches on personal budgeting escalating.

As the financial panic developed the Australian dollar tumbled as investors sought safety in U.S. treasury bonds, gold, and strong currencies such as the Yen.

Australia seems better placed than most to weather the downturn, with the Australian Government recently taking the extraordinary step of guaranteeing deposits held in all Australian banks, building societies and credit unions and, so far, escaping a vicious bursting of the housing bubble. Suddenly, the strains caused by high oil prices earlier in the year seem a long time ago.

Many of these celebrities and public figures died well before their time. There was perhaps no greater surprise than the tragic death of Heath Ledger who was cut off in his prime after his accidental overdose on prescription medicine. Cancer support advocate Jane McGrath died leaving behind a devastated husband in Australian cricket fast bowler Glenn McGrath and their two young children.

Another shocking death was the suicide of 'All Saints' actor Mark Priestley who committed suicide after battling depression. Expectation turned to agony and grief after Britt Lapthorne's body was found in Croatia. Old 'blue eyes', movie star Paul Newman, died from battling complications arising from lung cancer. Explorer Sir Edmund Hillary died of heart failure at the age of 88. Levi Kereama, a contestant on the first Season of Australian Idol along with Guy Sebastian, died after falling from a hotel balcony.

Rob Guest aka, the 'Phantom of the Opera' shocked the musical theatre industry with his death. The beautiful but fragile Ruslana Korshunova died when she fell from the ninth-floor of her New York American apartment. Meanwhile, actor and comedian Bernie Mac died on August 9, 2008 of complications due to pneumonia

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, took place in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 10,500 athletes competed in 302 events in 28 sports. The Games were hosted in a total of 37 venues including 12 newly built venues.

The choice of China as a host country drew the ire of the international human rights community and certain politicians concerned about China's poor human rights record. In the end, the Games saw 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records. A record 87 countries won a medal during the Games and Chinese athletes won 51 gold medals altogether.

Michael Phelps broke the record for most gold medals in one Olympics and most career gold medals for an Olympian. Usain Bolt secured the prestigious "World's Fastest Man" title by setting new world records in the 100m and 200m dashes. The following Olympians proved popular online for a combination of athletic prowess, good looks and potential scandal.

The Olympics stole many of the sporting highlights of the year, however, annual events such as the Australian Open and Melbourne Cup were still eagerly anticipated. Marion Jones stunned people with her shock confession of steroid use. Winner of the Australian Open Women's Singles title, Maria Sharapova, proved a centre court hit for her fashion sense and beauty as much as for her tennis skills. Other sporting highlights included the Socceroos, who continued their quest for qualification for the 2010 World Cup.

Despite the difficult economic times, Australians proved altruistic and compassionate with a keen interest on everything from the HIV/AIDS pandemic and AIDS orphans overseas to the problem of bullying in schools. Concerns about climate change were also brought into sharp focus with the release of the Garnaut Report. The key recommendation was for Australia to implement an Emissions Trading Scheme.

The issue of violence against women, both as part of the domestic violence scene, and minority religions, was brought into focus, and war in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo continued to produce stark images of refugees. Religious freedom is still an issue in many parts of the world and mandatory detention is seen as an outrage by Australians who want to see the end of this system in Australia.

Debate continues over paid maternity leave and questions of morality come into play when discussing the issue of capital punishment. The eternal quest for poverty reduction continued with Australians hopeful the world would go a long way towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

The release of the iPhone 3G saw keen shoppers frantically searching for information on the multimedia smartphone. The latest incarnation of the iPod Nano transfixed everyone and soon it seemed everybody had one of these bright coloured gadgets. With the launch of the Wii, Nintendo found the key to motivating couch potatoes, incorporating a fitness component into their gaming products. Car GPS units were a huge hit with the cool, calm voice directions cutting out the in-car squabbling.

Nokia's N95 was a highly lusted after item this year. The Nintendo DS Lite was a hit with for the gamer with an artistic edge, whilst the Sony PlayStation never loses its pulling power with every release proving popular. The Motorola Razr V3 is the fashionably slimline camera that can even fit in a ladies wallet and the Dopod 838 seems perfect for the modern executive on the run.

The desire to be healthier and to make better lifestyle choices is coupled with the quest to de-stress without breaking the bank in these hard economic times.

Discovering better lifestyle choices and choosing budget-conscious getaways has been reflected in Search this year with people looking to save some dollars while still taking time out to enjoy life.

Topics have ranged from mental health issues to domestic travel hotspots designed to keep one's bank balance in shape.

We've located your favourite health and travel searches for the year: