Britney beats Obama as most searched online celebrity

London, Dec 22 : Pop diva Britney Spears has beaten US Ppresident Barack Obama as the most searched for celebrity on the Internet in the last decade.

The singer shot to fame in 1998 with her debut track "Baby One More Time", and during her time in the limelight she has been married twice, given birth to two children and suffered a public meltdown, which saw her hospitalised on an involuntary psychiatric hold in 2008 and her drama-filled life has resulted in her being named the most popular celeb on the web, according to search engine Ask Jeeves, reports contactmusic.com.

US leader Barack Obama, who was elected president last year, came in second, while soccer ace David Beckham was the third most searched for star.

Late British royal Diana, Princess of Wales and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair rounded out the top five.