Yahoo! has been doing the annual Top 10 Searches List since 2001 and for the past 10 years, the top spot was taken by tv shows, celebrities, popular icons and technology but never by a news story. This year, the No. 1 spot belonged to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or also known as the BP oil spill. Below is the complete list of the Yahoo! Top 10 Searches for 2010.

1. BP Oil Spill

[Win McNamee/Getty Images]

2. World Cup

[Clive Mason/Getty Images]

3. Miley Cyrus

[Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

4. Kim Kardashian

[David McNew/Getty Images]

5. Lady Gaga

[Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images]

6. iPhone

[Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

7. Megan Fox

[Joe Scarnici/Getty Images]

8. Justin Bieber

[Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images]

9. American Idol

[Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

10. Britney Spears

[Jeremy Cowart/Getty Images]

It’s always interesting to find out the popular searches of the year even for those who are not into SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because it shows what people are using search engines for and what keeps people interested.

I was expecting the World Cup to be the top search term since it is the most watched and most anticipated sporting event in the world, so seeing the BP oil spill take the top spot was a bit of a surprise. But on the other hand, it is deserving and I’m glad to see it take the No. 1 spot because it is the only “useful” search term on the list.

To get a glimpse of what other things people are interested in and other popular search terms for this year, check out the 2010 Yahoo! Year in Review infographic.

Personally, I’m looking forward to see what Google has for their 2010 Year-End Zeitgeist.

To find the World Cup easter egg, just go to Google.com, type in the keywords “World Cup” or “world cup” and scroll down to the bottom of the page and you’ll see this:

Google World Cup Easter Egg

Pretty neat huh? I’m sure all you soccer fans loved that one. I’m a soccer fan myself and I can’t wait for the World Cup to start! Anyone else know of other World Cup related easter eggs on the Internet? Goooooooooooooal!

Yesterday, Italy defeated host country Germany 2 to nothing. Italy scored in overtime with goals from Fabio Grosso in the 119th minute and Alessandro Del Piero in the 121st minute. Italy had to defeat Germany in overtime and could not afford to have a penalty shootout with the Germans who are unbeaten in previous matches that involved a penalty shootout. The Italians out-hassled the Germans in the final minutes and made two well executed attacks that led to goals.

German fans react to their team’s loss.

The Germans, beaten in Dortmund for the first time ever lost their hopes and dreams of winning a World Cup at home. Inspite of their loss, they can still be proud of their team who played well in this year’s tournament.

Today, with Zidane’s goal, France advances to the final game of the 2006 World Cup against Italy. Prior to the game, everyone was talking about the matchup of two living legends in soccer, Real Madrid team-mates Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane. Both retired from international football after the Euro 2004 but changed their minds and decided to help their respective countries and make a final appearance in this World Cup. Unfortunately for Figo, this was his last game and last chance while Zidane has another game and another chance of winning another World Cup.

Zidane’s penalty kick shot.

When the games started I was rooting for Brazil to defend their title. I like the Brazilian team because of their exciting plays and gracefulness with the ball. However, they didn’t play well and France beat them 1-0. In the first semi-final Italy vs. Germany, I was rooting for the Italians. Not that I like them but because I didn’t the Germans. And for the game today, I didn’t root for a specific team but had a feeling that France was gonna win. The game for 3rd place, Germany vs. Portugal would be played on July 8th. The final game, Italy vs. France would be on July 9th. For that game, I will be rooting for France.

*images Copyright: Reuters & AFP.com