Google released their 2010 Zeitgeist video. This is the world's current affairs for the year, as indicated by changing search terms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0QXB5pw2qE
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2010/
The last link is VERY useful for tracking various queries on a timeline, and shows what people are interested in.