Net pulse of nation beats for stand-up comedian's jokes

In this time of gloom and doom, Chinese people went searching for a laugh.

Stand-up comedians, spy TV series and stories of corrupt officials caught the eye and fingers of many Chinese Internet users, according to an annual list of the most searched words in 2009 released Wednesday by Google Inc's China office.

"The popularity of comedy is a sign of lipstick effect," said Tan Fei, a senior culture critic in Beijing, referring to the theory that consumers in an economic crisis are more willing to buy less costly items. Women, for example, will still buy lipstick but not the $3,000 Gucci purse.