Click to play videoNew Delhi: This is for the incessant googlers and researchers in all of us. We are all part of chain of curiosity. What is on Google's list of the most searched people and items? It is a long list but Katrina Kaif is right on top. Bye Bye Aishwarya and Madhuri Dixit! Katrina is the new Indian fantasy. The God of online searches, Google, says Katrina is head and shoulders above every other Indian on the web. And in her case, love works across borders, in Pakistan she's twice as hot.
The other big find is that India loves booking train tickets - online. This website was among the most searched for this year, with people preferring a click, to long lines at the station.
While video sharing, social networking and email sites remain extremely popular, they are often surfed even from mobile phones. Cost clearly isn't as important as convenience for the Indian surfer.
A related Google list tracks sudden spikes in searches about the common cold. Google says it helps predict a flu epidemic upto two weeks in advance.
If there's a spike, it means people are feeling under the weather. We can use that information to warn pharmaceutical companies to stock up on drugs for common cold or even influenza remedies. That can help up to five lakh influenza victims every year, say Google personnel.
So next time you search for something on Google, remember, you're helping collate a list, that could predict the future.
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