Hamburg - A new Google service lets users track internet trends.

The "Insights for Search" feature lets users see what searches were popular in a particular country during a specific time span, according to Google's offices in Hamburg. Searches can also show the rate at which certain searches became more popular among users. For those who want even more detail, data for individual or several countries is available.

"Insights for Search" also lets users type in their own catch phrases to see how popular that search is. A user could type in the name of a popular actor and see when and what other terms were used to find information about them. Links to specific news items related to that person are also included with the search.

The service, based on the older "Zeitgeist" function, has only been offered in English so far. (dpa)