Whitney Houston, Gangnam Style Among Top Searches In 2012, Says Google

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Google released on Thursday its annual Zeitgeist lists for Malaysia, which showed that Malaysians have varied interests with 2012 searches ranging from shopping sites to TV series, online gaming terms to Korean pop songs. In a statement, Google said the lists offer a unique glimpse through the collective eyes of Malaysian searchers into the big events, memorable moments and emerging trends that captivated the nation throughout this year. Whitney Houston, an American recording artist, actress, producer and model, was the "top global trending queries" search of the year and Korean rapper PSY's "Gangnam Style" music video trotted into second spot, a testament to his self-deprecating dance move. The video is approaching a billion views on YouTube. When it comes to TV, Malaysians clearly love 3D animated funny stories -- Upin & Ipin, Boboiboy and Ultraman 2012 -- were the most-searched TV shows this year. Tech-crazy Malaysians had plenty of technology trends to plug into this year. Gadgets both real and rumoured grabbed four out of the top 10 fastest rising search queries: Samsung Galaxy S3, iPad 3, iPad Mini and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 were all popular searches. As for turning to Google with tech-related questions, Malaysians asked "What is…" to find out more about ‘Gangnam’, ‘Instagram’, and ‘Love’ and they also turned to image search to post in social website such as ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Love Quotes’ and Roses. Meanwhile, singer Shila Amzah, who became the champion of the inaugural season of the Chinese television show Asian Wave 2012, led the list of the fastest rising people searched which includes Amanda Todd, a Canadian teen who was found dead of an apparent suicide in October after being bullied online. Badminton player and Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei topped the most searched athletes list, which also includes Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. On travel destinations, the most searched were Legoland Malaysia followed by Sunway Lagoon, Singapore, Langkawi and Camerons Highland. Proton Preve also made it to the car models (trending) list at third spot, after Nissan Almera (first place) and Toyota 86. Google spokesperson Zeffri Yusof said Google is often the first place Malaysians turn to follow their favourite sports, catch up on the latest news or discover new things and people. "As always, the year-end Zeitgeist is a cultural barometer that gives us a real snapshot of the big events, memorable moments and growing trends in Malaysia for 2012," he added. -- BERNAMA