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Other popular English language search queries include Samsung Galaxy S3, The Avengers, Skyfall, Hurricane Sandy and KONY 2012, with just two Arabic searches reaching the top 10. 'Ramadan Series 2012' (مسلسلات رمضان ٢٠١٢) and 'Syrian Revolution' (الثورة السورية) came in at 8th and 10th place respectively.
Google's Zeitgeist is a free service that gives a breakdown of popular search patterns over a given period - typically a year. Other lists include People, TV Shows, Athletes, Travel Destinations and Foods & Drinks.
The UAE edition of the Zeitgeist also revealed language choice trends across different subject areas. Both the Travel Destinations and Food & Drinks top 10 lists were comprised entirely of Arabic queries, while People, topped by Whitney Houston, was an even split between Arabic and English. Sports Teams, Athletes and Fashion Labels were English only since they were fully comprised of people and brand names.
As well as breaking down in-country trends, the annual report also reveals the top 10 Google searches globally.
The top trending worldwide searches in 2012:
1. Whitney Houston
2. Gangnam Style
3. Hurricane Sandy
4. iPad 3
5. Diablo 3
6. Kate Middleton
7. Olympics 2012
8. Amanda Todd
9. Michael Clarke Duncan
10. BBB12
Google's findings are likely to be the most accurate since they currently dominate the search engine space with over 65% of the market share. Nearest rivals Yahoo and Bing! Account for around 16% and 13% of searches, respectively.
Since Google's founding in 1998, the California-headquartered multinational has experimented with a wide variety of web-based services and telecommunications products, and will now turn some of its attention to high-speed internet cabling in 2013 with Google Fiber, now being rolled out in parts of the USA.
Steven Bond, Reporter
