There were some gainers that weren't altogether unexpected (mission impossible 3, radiohead), but the rest of the week's Top 15 ranged from the overtly scandalous (tori spelling, heather locklear, pamela rogers) to the highly touted (michelle wie, oscar de la hoya, danica patrick).

For breaking news and obscure information alike, people around the world search on Google. Below is a summary of the Google Zeitgeist results for the top 15 gainers on Google.com when comparing search queries that have risen by a significant percentage for the week of May 01-08.

For more information, visit the Google Zeitgeist at http://www.google.com/zeitgeist.

Google.com Gainers

1. maggie q - the Hawaiian-born Hong Kong action starlet (who has worked under Jackie Chan) has generated more than a little buzz for herself with a solid performance (and a memorable red dress) in Mission: Impossible III.
2. mission impossible 3 - the first salvo in the summer action-movie season is putting up decent box-office numbers and piquing plenty of user interest, despite average reviews (its Metacritic score is a 66 out of 100).
3. kentucky derby - 10 days after the 2006 Derby, everyone's still talking about runaway winner Barbaro; as we head into this Saturday's Preakness, there's talk that the 3-year-old colt might have a real shot at the Triple Crown.
4. radiohead - it's been a big week for the iconic alt-rock group--they launched their latest UK tour, debuted some new material onstage, and announced that front man Thom Yorke will release a solo album titled "The Eraser" on July 11 (sparking rumors that Yorke might be striking out on his own).
5. tori spelling - the former 90210 star recently married actor Dean McDermott in a private ceremony in Fiji; rumor has it that the couple, who met last September while filming a TV movie, might be expecting.
6. pamela rogers - nearly four months after the 28-year-old teacher was arrested a second time for her involvement with a 13-year-old student, she's still making news; Pamela's parents recently appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" to discuss how their daughter's failed marriage might have influenced her recent behavior.
7. michelle wie - the 16-year-old phenom made USGA history on Monday, becoming the first woman to make it through a local qualifying tournament for the US Open; next up is the June 5 sectionals at Canoe Brook in Summit, NJ.
8. whitney houston - the Grammy-award-winning songstress and co-star of "Being Bobby Brown" spent the last week battling rumors that she has a brain tumor; The National Enquirer, which first printed the rumor, says it "stands by its story 100 percent."
9. oscar de la hoya - a little more than a week after the Golden Boy trounced Ricardo Mayorga in Las Vegas, talk continues about his place in boxing history and the prospect of a September 2006 bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
10. kaavya viswanathan - the Harvard sophomore continues to get tagged in the press after it was revealed that her precocious debut novel, "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life," was partially plagiarized.
11. heather locklear - former "TJ Hooker" hottie and "Melrose Place" vixen is reportedly embroiled in a nasty love triangle with jilted ex (and Bon Jovi guitarist) Richie Sambora and the newly single Denise Richards.
12. danica patrick - as practice begins for the 2006 Indy 500, "Danicamania" shifts into high gear; The New York Times is reporting that Danica merchandise "outsold that of any other driver by 10 to 1" last year.
13. manuel uribe - supposedly the world's most obese man (at more than 1,200 pounds), Uribe is expected to undergo gastric-bypass surgery in the coming weeks; Uribe's case has confounded doctors, as his blood-sugar and cholesterol levels are relatively normal.
14. vince young - the Rose Bowl hero QB and #3 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft began taking snaps for his new team, the Tennessee Titans, this week; it was also announced this week that BET is working on a reality TV series featuring the former Longhorn called "Vince Young: Next Level."
15. patrick kennedy - the Rhode Island congressman and son of US Senator Ted Kennedy made news earlier this month after he hit a Capitol barricade with his car in the middle of the night (he was reportedly driving under the influence of Ambien); he's currently at the Mayo Clinic dealing with his addiction to prescription meds, while the punditry on both sides adopts him as a poster boy.

Source: Google

Source: Wired News