Tennis: Anna top seed on internet

Tennis star Anna Kournikova has volleyed her way to the top of the web for a second year - hitting the top position as the most-searched athlete on the internet.

Kournikova, who, with £35m worth of endorsement deals, is more successful of the court, easily beat out such athletes as David Beckham, Michael Jordan and New York Yankees baseball star Derek Jeter.

The Russian teenager is especially popular with men because of her skimpy, skin-baring outfits, on and off the court.

The top ten, according to internet company Lycos, included Martina Hingis and Tiger Woods. David Beckham, the only footballer in the list, was 13th.

The winner of the ‘‘most-searched team’’ of the year was the New York Yankees. Manchester United came sixth and Liverpool ninth.

There also was a boost in athlete ‘‘sex appeal’’ searches, with British squash player Vicky Botwright getting a huge numbers of hits.