London, Apr 20: Recession has certainly changed how we surfed web, for instead of buying something, people are searching ways to save money.

Three years ago it was Armani, oysters and buy-to-let mortgages and today its Primark, grow-your-own veg and flat shares among the most searched topics on Internet.

The ongoing credit crisis has reduced people''s interest in organic food and they are now looking for ways to save money by using cheaper cuts of meat.

Few people are searching for cruises or round-the-world trips, and more for cut-price coach tours and camping.

Search engine Ask Jeeves has compiled lists of popular search topics in 2009 compared with 2006.

"The shift in the questions we''ve been getting has been really dramatic," the Mirror quoted Cesar Mascaraque, managing director of askjeeves. com, as saying.

"Of course, the economic downturn has had a massive impact. You get a very good picture of a nation tightening the purse strings and using the net to help save money in all sorts of new ways.

"Since 2006 the fashion has gone from fads to function. What people want to know now is how to cook cheaply, how to dress for less," he added.

In the survey of 1,000 adults sixty-four per cent of those asked said that, for the first time, they are taking simple measures to save money, such as turning down thermostats and putting lids on pans.

And 90 per cent thought buying bottled water pointless, a huge shift in thinking from a few years back.

They are even spending less money on fads like feng shui and personal horoscopes.

More than six out of 10 adults said they had scrapped something they no longer thought necessary, with that designer water and accessories for dogs topping the list.

The survey showed that web is fast becoming not just a useful tool for life in the 21st century, but an absolute necessity.

More than three-quarters of those surveyed stated they would go to websites and search engines for advice, compared to 43 per cent who said they would ask family and friends. (ANI)