Johnny Carson Death, One of Most-Searched Celebrity Passings; Tsunami Continues to Drive Search Activity, as One of Top News Stories in Recent Years

Johnny Carson Death, One of Most-Searched Celebrity Passings; Tsunami Continues to Drive Search Activity, as One of Top News Stories in Recent Years

The Lycos 50 for Week Ending January 29, 2005

WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Lycos, Inc. (http://www.lycos.com/), a leading provider of search, community and technology lifestyle destinations and a wholly owned subsidiary of Daum Communications, Corp. (KOSDAQ: 035720), a premier Internet portal in Korea, today announced the following information from The Lycos 50(TM), the 50 most popular Internet search results for the week ending Jan. 29, 2005. For a complete list of The Lycos 50(TM) and for in-depth text of The Lycos 50 Daily Report, 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/.

The Lycos 50(TM) Top 10 Search Terms for the Week Ending Jan. 29, 2005:

1) Paris Hilton 6) Pamela Anderson
2) NFL 7) Brooke Burke
3) Britney Spears 8) Tara Reid
4) Clay Aiken 9) Jennifer Lopez
5) Lindsay Lohan 10) Tsunami

Notes of Interest:


The death of late night talk show giant Johnny Carson (#29) has generated more search activity with web users than any other celebrity death over the past several months. Searches for Carson soared more than 830 percent in the first 24 hours following news of his death, and although search activity has dipped slightly, overall searches for Carson during this past week make him one of the most-searched celebrity passings since the death of former President Ronald Regan in June 2004. Prior to President Regan's death, singer Maurice Gibb's death spurred more search activity than any rock and roll passing tracked by The Lycos 50, with the exception of George Harrison. It is very rare for a celebrity death to spend two weeks on The Lycos 50, and only a few big names have held America's interest long enough -- Lisa Lopes, Aaliyah, George Harrison, porn star Linda Lovelace, Wendy's Restaurant founder Dave Thomas, John Ritter, and Johnny Cash. But the one celebrity death which continues to hold the record for stirring the most online interest is Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has generated more search activity than any other celebrity death in the history of The Lycos 50.

Other Notes of Interest:

The tsunami (#10) that devastated Southern Asia and India is fast becoming one of the most-searched news stories in the history of The Lycos 50. This week marks the fifth consecutive week that tsunami searches have placed in the top 10 on the list. The only other news stories to remain in the top 10 for five consecutive weeks or more were: the War in Iraq (#30); Election 2000; and of course, the Sept. 11 attacks on America.

About Lycos, Inc.

Lycos, Inc. (http://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. creates and operates search, community and technology lifestyle sites including Lycos.com, Hotbot.com, Wired.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com and Quote.com. Other Lycos products and sites include Lycos Mail, Gamesville and GetRelevant. 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, http://www.daum.net/.

Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University. 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.

CONTACT: Kathy O'Reilly of Lycos, +1-781-370-3454, koreilly@lycos-
inc.com

Web site: http://www.lycos.com/


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