U.S. Olympic Swimming Heroes Michael Phelps and Dara Torres, Most-Searched Olympic Athletes on Lycos

    WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 21 /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 most popular Internet search terms and trends for the week
 ending Aug. 16, 2008. For more information on this week's list and
 commentary, go to http://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 Under the Red
 Carpet Blog at http://redcarpet.tripod.com/blog/.
 
 
    Biggest Movers and Shakers for Week Ending Aug. 16, 2008:
 
     1.  Michael Phelps          880 %
     2.  U.S. Summer Olympics    725 %
     3.  Dara Torres             630 %
     4.  Madonna                 600 %
     5.  Isaac Hayes             533 %
     6.  Bigfoot                 505 %
     7.  Dane Cook               445 %
     8.  Jake Gyllenhaal         360 %
     9.  Hayden Panettiere       310 %
     10. Nick Jonas              225 %
 
     Search Gainers:
 
     Gold medal record swimmer Michael Phelps (#20) makes a big splash
 online, entering the Lycos 50 for the first time ever, jumping 880 percent
 in search activity over the past week. According to NBC, nearly 40 million
 viewers tuned in to watch Phelps race for his eighth gold medal, drawing
 more viewers than this year's "American Idol" finale and the Academy
 Awards(R) broadcast. And while TV ratings for the 2008 Summer Olympics are
 scoring record numbers for NBC, search activity indicates web users are
 glued online as well, with search interest in the U.S. Summer Olympics
 increasing seven-fold. In addition to Phelps, U.S. swimmer, 41-year-old
 Dara Torres (#33) also makes her Lycos 50 debut, top of mind with web users
 this week, up 630 percent, after winning two silver metals. Meanwhile,
 comedian Dane Cook hits this week's Movers and Shakers list, rising 445
 percent following his blog post criticizing the recent promotional poster
 for his upcoming movie, "My Best Friend's Girl." Cook held nothing back,
 listing the top 10 things he disliked about the poster promo, calling it
 "boring and odd." And the alleged Bigfoot discovery claim by two Georgia
 residents, which turned out to be a hoax, generated enough buzz to propel
 search interest in the creature up 505 percent. The supposed Sasquatch
 discovered in a freezer box in upstate Georgia was actually a rubber ape
 costume.
 
     About Lycos, Inc.
 
     Lycos, Inc. operates search and technology web sites that foster online
 communities, including the new Lycos Cinema community, bringing people
 together one flick at a time. Other Lycos products and sites include
 Lycos.com, Hotbot.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com, Gamesville.com, Lycos
 Mail, Webon, WhoWhere.com and The Lycos 50(TM). 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 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.
 
     (C)2008 Lycos, Inc. 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.
 
 
 

SOURCE Lycos, Inc.