The year is almost over and the pop culture experts are looking back at 2004.  If the internet is any measure of America�s interests, it would appear that blondes and superstar wannabes were front and center.  The top search term for this year, according to leading global internet company Yahoo!, is �American Idol.�  Heiress bad girl Paris Hilton was the second most popular search, followed by newlywed Jessica Simpson.  Both bumped out Britney Spears, who had reigned as top search queen for three years.  Nancy Evers from Yahoo! Search:

�It�s amazing to see interests shifts from �geek to chic� with video games and wizards holding top spots in 2003, compared to this year�s focus on celebrity scandals and sports.  With more than a 160 million registered users in the U.S., Yahoo! really is a great barometer for identifying what was hot and what was not in 2004.�

To see all the top searches of 2004 in more than a dozen categories, such as news, music, movies, and personalities, go to top search-dot-yahoo-dot-com-slash-top 2004.