Australians are taking advantage of online search during the 2010 Election, with climate change, education and immigration as the top three searched political issues, reported research company, Experian Hitwise.

All online searches between 8 May and 14 August 2010 around key Australian political issues and political leaders were tracked by Experian Hitwise.

Searches on climate change reached a peak around 15 May, but witnessed a recent spike in mid-July following a revised climate change policy announcements. At current, climate change is garnering the most online searches, accounting for three and a half times the share of searches than immigration.

Education searches were at their peak in May after the debate around the nationwide ban of National Assessment Programme – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), but have steadily decreased to become the second most searched election topic.

Immigration search figures have remained constant, only increasing in frequency by 10% over the past two months.

Julia Gillard is the top searched political leader, with Tony Abbott’s search popularity only increasing after the new election date was announced on 17 June.