YAHOO! INDIA 2011 YEAR-IN-REVIEW: Anna Hazare emerges as top newsmaker

Yahoo! India, announced its 2011 Year in Review, that offers an annual look-back into the biggest trends of the year, as gleaned from the millions of searches that took place on Yahoo!, plus the editorial selection of what users read, recommended and shared most on the Yahoo! network. With Yahoo! India reaching more than 80% (Source: ComScore) of the online audience in India, the Year in Review (YIR) is a true reflection of what captured the imagination of the Indian Internet user.

The 2011 Year in Review which is available in 17 versions including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States, is being released for the third year in India.

The Internet audience in India witnessed a sprawling array of developments around wins, fights, bizarre stories, fond farewells, momentous events, celeb babies and facepalm moments - across politics, entertainment and sports.

"From frenetic cricket mania to the politics of "honesty', the Indian Internet audience witnessed interesting happenings in the year 2011, right here on Yahoo!; be it breaking news, engaging cricket coverage, consuming celebrity and Bollywood content, Yahoo! is where millions of Indians came every day to connect with their passions. The Yahoo! Year in Review is truly reflective of the pulse of the Internet user in India ' a snapshot of what mattered most to them", said Prem Panicker, Managing Editor, Yahoo! India.

The Yahoo! Year in Review goes beyond just the top searches, with an editorial selection of top trends in 11 other categories. Mamta Banerjee, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Amma Jayalalitha all grabbed positions in the Top Newsmakers Category. The performance of heavy metal gods Metallica, the DK Bose saga, and Lady Gaga all pepped up the music world and secured places in The Year in Song category.

Some Bizzare stories such as PETA launching a porn site, a woman giving birth to her own grandchild, and kissing can cause cavities, intrigued the nation. Kolaveri (The killer instinct), Poschim Bongo (newly acquired name of West Bengal), the Royal Wedding, Tihar Jail (Tiharis: A Raja, Kanimozhi, Suresh Kalmadi), "I' (for Innovation guru Steve Jobs), and DK Bose emerged as the hottest Buzzwords online.

Aishwarya-Abhishek's baby, Konkana-Ranveer's baby, and Lara Dutta's pregnancy were all followed with huge interest ” never mind that India's population continued to explode. Breakups such as Priyanka-Shahid and John-Bipasha featured high in the interestingly named category Celeb babies and heartbreaks.

Controversies found their way into the report in the listings for the Facepalm category with Miss India Universe Vasuki Sunkavalli's alleged plagiarism, Rakhi Sawant's marriage aspirations, and Kiran Bedi's travelling economy making their way into the charts.

More trends revolved around Notable quotes, Fond farewells, and Top10 automobile launches captivated the attention of the Indian Internet audience.