Sarah Palin searches rocket

Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, is the subject of a wave of interest as journalists, bloggers and citizens take to the web to learn more about the mother-of-five.

The 44-year-old was picked by John McCain last Friday to be his running mate. The choice caused a shock and sent surfers scurrying to the internet to discover just who the little-known governor is.

Weekend reports suggested that the general public weren't the only ones in the dark about Palin; Senator McCain had only one previous meeting with the governor before choosing her as his running mate.

Searches last week for 'Sarah Palin' were 45 per cent higher than those for 'Barack Obama', according to web-monitoring firm Hitwise.

Thirty-eight per cent of searches for 'Palin' ended up on Wikipedia during the week ending 30 August, Eva Stringleman of Hitwise told Web User.

Palin last year travelled to Germany and Kuwait to visit Alaskan National Guard troops. She reportedly had to apply for a passport especially for the trip.

She has also visited Ireland and Canada, and is pro-gun and anti-abortion.

Back in Alaska, Palin faces an allegation from the state's ethics committee for her alleged role in the sacking of the state safety commissioner.

Cindy McCain, John McCain's wife, said in a television interview that Palin had knowledge about Russia because: "Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin
www.hitwise.com