Pop star Britney Spears was No. 1 on Yahoo's list of top 10 overall searches, followed by WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) at No. 2, and Barack Obama, president-elect of the United States came in at No. 3. Singer Miley Cyrus and videogame RuneScape rounded out the top five.

In addition to the top 10 searches, Yahoo also identified several major search themes for 2008, including the economy, the Olympics and news stories. The most popular economy-related search was IRS stimulus checks, followed by oil prices and gold prices. Swimmer Michael Phelps was the most-searched Olympian, while hurricanes topped the list of most popular news stories, Yahoo said.

Here's a closer look at Yahoo's Top 10 Searches for 2008:

1. Britney Spears: the singer and tabloid queen has been the most popular search term for seven of the last eight years, Yahoo said.

2. WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment): professional wrestling provided a bit of escapism for fans around the world.

3. Barack Obama: Politician or celebrity? Both, it would seem, as Obama was the second most-searched person of the year.

4. Miley Cyrus: the star of the "Hannah Montanta" films and TV show is popular with the kiddies but also created controversy with a racy photo shoot for Vanity Fair.

5. RuneScape: Fans tired of this world logged into this online role-playing game.

6. Jessica Alba: A wedding and a baby in 2008 helped put the film star on a lot of fans' watch lists.

7. Naruto: It's a Japanese manga series, it's a show on Cartoon Network and it's a video game. Get Naruto any way you like it.

8. Lindsay Lohan: Everyone's favorite Hollywood bad girl continued to captivate in 2008, particularly as fans followed her relationship with girlfriend Samantha Ronson.

9. Angelina Jolie: Half of Hollywood's most powerful couple, Jolie starred in several movies this year as well as a war of words with the ex-Mrs. Pitt, Jennifer Aniston.

10. American Idol: A tale of two Davids captivated audiences as rocker David Cook and sweetie David Archuleta faced off.