|
PR03489 6 August 2005
Liverpool Top of the UK's Destination League
London - UK - 6th August 2005 - Its official! The recent run of wet weather hasn't dampened our spirits - Brits still prefer local amusement to adventuring abroad with Liverpool, London, Blackpool, and Eastbourne each registering thousands of hits a week on MSN Search. The four UK cities have seen off traditional summer sun contenders such as France, Spain and Cyprus in the latest MSN Search Hotlist.
Capital of Culture
It seems Liverpool's 'European Capital of Culture' crown is paying off for the city three years before it even comes into effect, with the city officially the most searched for destination by the 5.8 million users of MSN Search, ahead of other spots famed for culture, sun and fun. The city narrowly beat Sydney and Disney (by five places and nine places respectively) but came in 127 positions ahead of Thailand, 87 ahead of Spain, 65 ahead of Paris and 39 spots ahead of Cyprus.
Blackpool was the UK's second most searched for destination and London its third.
Dont rain on our parade
But inspite of seeing off competition from famous global holiday destinations it seems Liverpool just can't compete with the Brit's obsession with the weather. The terms weather forecast, UK weather forecast and Met Office all appeared in MSN Searchs top 100, ahead of the city, with 'weather' coming in at the no.3 spot, only beaten by Big Brother and horoscopes!
'Help! Its summer already!'
Weight also continues to be a British obsession. And summer has inspired us to click our way to slimmer curves in our droves. Weight Watchers and Slimming World both make new appearances in the top 150 search terms just as the sun comes out and layers come off.
Everyones gone Suduko crazy
But not everyone's been inspired to get slim and active this summer. The new armchair puzzle craze Sudoku has raced up MSN Search's Hotlist to secure a place in the top 10 (no.9), overtaking current band of the moment, Coldplay, film of the moment, War of the Worlds and even book of the moment, Harry Potter!
What's Scientology?
But Tom Cruise neednt despair. His current blockbuster might not be getting everyone clicking but his fascination with new religion Scientology certainly has. It's soared up the MSN Search hotlist chart to the no.39 position leaving Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton and even his new girlfriend, Katie Holmes, trailing in its wake.
MSN Search Marketing Manager, Stuart Anderson, comments: 'UK cities and beach spots might not have the guaranteed sun and high temperatures of places like Sydney and Spain but MSN Search shows they're just as hot as more traditional summer sun destinations and hotter in the trends charts than some of Hollywoods A list stars!
'With nearly six million people using new MSN Search every month it's a great way of taking the UK population's pulse and seeing what is really getting everyone excited.'
MSN is the UKs largest portal attracting over 15.6 million visitors per month in the UK (Nielsen//NetRatings June 2005) and more than 380 million unique users worldwide (MSN Internal Data). Owned by Microsoft, MSN is available in 40 markets and 20 languages.
MSN offers a wide range of Subscription products including Hotmail Plus and MSN Premium with state of the art parental controls, spam filtering software and photo editing tools.
MSN provides a number of world class innovative communication and information services including:
- MSN Hotmail, the UK's most popular free web-based e-mail service with over 7.7 million users in the UK (Nielsen//NetRatings June 2005) and over 190 million active accounts worldwide (MSN Internal Data)
- MSN Messenger, the UK's number one instant messaging service on the internet with 8.8 million monthly users (Nielsen//NetRatings June 2005) and over 155 million active users worldwide (MSN Internal data)
- MSN Search, one of the UK's top search sites with over 5.8 million users. (Nielsen//NetRatings June 2005). MSN Search is available in 32 markets worldwide and 14 languages. MSN Toolbar is available in 47 markets with 53 million installed worldwide.
 |
| About Microsoft | |
|
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.
Visit the Microsoft UK homepage for further information on Microsoft products
|
| Contact information | |
|
Journalists should contact The Microsoft Press Centre. Telephone 0870 20 77377, lines are open 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday.
|
Customer enquiries should be directed to Microsoft on 0870 6010 100. Opening hours are 8.00am to 6.00pm.Contact us with your general Microsoft queries