'War' took over from 'sex', 'Britney Spears' and 'travel' over the weekend as the number one web search term, according to Freeserve.

The UK internet service provider, which tracks daily changes in popular search terms, also said that news websites are seeing a huge surge in traffic, as surfers look for the latest on the war.

Some news sites are attracting two or three times as many visitors as usual.

According to Reuters, Yahoo is experiencing the same trend, with 'Iraq' claiming the number one search term on its Buzz Index.

The topic generated more interest than music and basketball. Searches involving military technology or jargon are also much more common.