Lycos Reports Drastic Drop in Search Activity for War in Iraq Five Years Later; Search Interest in the Eliot Spitzer Scandal Continues to Rise

WALTHAM, Mass., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Lycos, Inc. (http://www.lycos.com), a leading provider of social publishing, media and search services, today announced the following information from The Lycos 50(TM), the 50 most popular Internet search results for the week ending March 15, 2008. For a complete list of The Lycos 50 and for in-depth text of The Lycos 50 Daily Report, go tohttp://50.lycos.com. Readers of The Lycos 50 can also share their thoughts on Internet trends and pop culture on The Lycos 50 Blog located at http://lycos50.tripod.com/blog/ and the all new Under the Red Carpet Blog at http://redcarpet.tripod.com/blog/.

    Biggest Movers and Shakers for Week Ending March 15, 2008:

    1.  St. Patrick's Day                      383%
    2.  Eliot Spitzer                          375%
    3.  Ashley Alexandra Dupre                 300%
    4.  Trish Stratus                          283%
    5.  Madonna                                275%
    6.  Jessica Biel                           230%
    7.  Jessica Simpson                        126%
    8.  Heath Ledger                           115%
    9.  YouTube                                 72%
    10. Paris Hilton                            45%

Search Activity for War in Iraq Five Years Later:

In Dec. 2004, the War in Iraq was the most-searched news story of 2004 with Lycos users. During 2004, search activity for the war spiked several times particularly after the controversial photos of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison surfaced in news outlets worldwide, and after the videos of the beheadings of American's Nick Berg and Paul Johnson appeared online. More telling, during April 2003, the War in Iraq hit number two on the Lycos 50 weekly list of most popular search terms, and searches for Al-Jazeera and its myriad of spellings generated three times more search activity than the always popular three-letter combination, SEX. This week, during the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the War in Iraq, Iran (#27) is the only war- related term resonating with web users, while the War in Iraq continues to decline in search interest, down 120 percent over the past three and a half years.

Search Gainers:

Online interest in former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer continues to climb, nearly tripling in search activity over the past week since news of his involvement with a prostitution ring called the Emperors Club first surfaced on March 10. Search activity for Spitzer's alleged "companion," Ashley Alexandra Dupre, also skyrocketed threefold this week, particularly following MTV News reports that Dupre has completed two tracks of a new CD, with one track, "Hello, Stranger, Stranger," telling the story of meeting a man late at night. Online interest in Heath Ledger also rises this week, up 115 percent after reports speculating Ledger's inheritance could be in jeopardy of reaching his 2-year old daughter. It appears the actor's will, written in 2003, left everything to Ledger's parents and siblings. Ledger's father later issued a public statement that Ledger's daughter Matilda and her mother, actress Michelle Williams, "would be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be."

    The Lycos 50(TM) Top 10 Search Terms for the Week Ending March 15, 2008:
    1)  St. Patrick's Day     6)  Pamela Anderson
    2)  Paris Hilton          7)  YouTube
    3)  Clay Aiken            8)  Jessica Simpson
    4)  Naruto                9)  Britney Spears
    5)  WWE                  10)  Lindsay Lohan

About Lycos, Inc.

Lycos, Inc. (www.lycos.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Daum Communications Corp., a leading Internet portal and e-commerce destination in Korea with a growing presence throughout the Asian markets. Lycos, Inc. operates search and technology web sites that foster online communities, including the new Lycos Cinema video platform, combining community with high- quality broadband video content. Other Lycos products and sites include Lycos.com, Hotbot.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com, Gamesville.com, Lycos Mail, WhoWhere.com and The Lycos 50(TM). Lycos was acquired by Korean Daum Communications Corp. in October 2004 and has its U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. Daum Communications Corp. is traded on the KOSDAQ: 035720, www.daum.net.

Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Lycos, Inc. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Daum Communications Corp., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.