Nick Berg is Number One Search Term With Web Users; Iraq War and War-Related Terms Dominate Five of Top 10 Searches on This Week's List, Al Qaeda Makes List for First Time Ever; Berg Tragedy Causes Renewed Interest in Daniel Pearl

The Lycos 50 for Week Ending May 15, 2004 WALTHAM, Mass., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Terra Lycos (Nasdaq: TRLY), the global Internet Group, today announced the following information from The Lycos 50(TM), the 50 most popular user searches for the week ending May 15, 2004. 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 May 15, 2004: 1) Nick Berg 6) Paris Hilton 2) War in Iraq 7) Al-Qaeda 3) Muntada al-Ansar 8) KaZaA 4) Britney Spears 9) Al Jazeera 5) Clay Aiken 10) Survivor Notes of Interest: Nick Berg (#1) has been the number one search term on The Lycos 50 since mid-week last week. During the first 48 hours following news of the Nick Berg execution, the top 10 search requests Web users were specifically searching for regarding Berg were: Nick Berg video, Nick Berg Beheading, Nick Berg and Iraq, Nick Berg Execution, Nick Berg Beheading Video, Nick Berg Killing, Nick Berg murder, Nick Berg assassination, Nick Berg decapitation video, and execution of Nick Berg. Late last week, Web users became focused on seeking out, finding, and watching the actual execution video and searches began emerging for: find Nick Berg video, watch Nick Berg beheading, and Nick Berg video link. Nick Berg-related searches are so prevalent that they dwarf all other searches, including the consistent pop-culture leaders. Over the past week, Nick Berg searches were 24 times higher than Britney Spears (#4), Paris Hilton (#6), and Clay Aiken (#5). Iraq War and Nick Berg-Related Terms: Search activity for the War in Iraq (#2) continued high this week as additional news surfaced that more Iraqi POW photos and videos existed of the alleged abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison. Web search activity also increased dramatically for Muntada al-Ansar (#3), a group often carrying statements by Islamic militants, alleged to have operated the Web site that aired the killing of Nick Berg. Al Qaeda (#7) searches also increased, putting Al Qaeda on The Lycos 50 for the first time ever. In other Iraq War and Nick Berg- related news, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (#17), a Jordanian militant with links to Al Qaeda who is believed to be behind the killing of Nick Berg, also made this week's list. Also returning to this week's list is The Drudge Report (#46) which saw a spike in search activity as Web users scoured the Internet looking for the Berg video and photos of the Iraqi POWs in Abu Ghraib prison. And news of the Berg killing also caused increased interest in the Daniel Pearl (#34) killing. The Wall Street Journal reporter was kidnapped and beheaded by Muslim militants also shown on videotape. Searches for Pearl grew as high as number four on The Lycos 50 in March 2002. Other Notes of Interest: News organizations like CNN have also risen, but only Al Jazeera (#9) and the Drudge Report (#46) make this week's list. The most-searched news organizations and news reporters to emerge since the Nick Berg tragedy began to unfold are: CNN (Up 133 percent) The Drudge Report (Up 141 percent)Sean Hannity (Up 121 percent) USA Today (Up 113 percent) The New York Times (Up 142 percent) MSNBC (Up 170 percent)ABC News (Up 150 percent) FOX News (Up 97 percent) Al-Jazeera (Up 175 percent) About Terra Lycos Terra Lycos is a global Internet group, with a presence in 40 countries in 19 languages. The group, which resulted from Terra Networks, S.A's acquisition of Lycos, Inc. in October of 2000, operates some of the most widely visited Web sites in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America, and is the largest access provider in Spain and Latin America. Terra Lycos' network of Web sites includes Terra in 18 countries, Lycos in 22 countries, Angelfire.com, Atrea.com, Azeler.es, Educaterra.com, Gamesville.com, HotBot.com, Ifigenia.com, Invertia.com, Lycos Zone, Maptel.com, Matchmaker.com, Quote.com, RagingBull.com, Rumbo.com, Tripod.com, Uno-e.com and Wired News (Wired.com), among others. Terra Lycos, with headquarters in Barcelona and operating centers in Madrid and Boston, as well as elsewhere, is listed on the Madrid stock exchange (ticker: TRR) and on the NASDAQ electronic market (ticker: TRLY). Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Terra Networks, S.A., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.