IN St Albans the locals are obsessed with diets and gyms; in Liverpool they prefer fashion; in Aberdeen money is a key concern; and in Gateshead they have a thing about Kate Winslet.

These are the findings of an analysis of private preoccupations around the country as judged by the use of the search engine Google. By logging where most searches are made for particular words or phrases, and comparing them with total searches for the same area, Google has tentatively identified regional predilections.

Last week St Albans, Hertfordshire, emerged as the most self-absorbed city in Britain, topping the list for searches for gym, weight loss, GI diet and Atkins diet. Any suspicion that this is a fluke would seem to be dispelled by the finding that it also tops the list for plastic surgery, acupuncture and Pilates.

The Google Trends system makes no claims to be scientific — it cannot speak for non-internet users, for example — but the sustained lead of St Albans in these areas is hard to dismiss.

Although the city takes its name from a Christian martyr who gave his life for others, current residents admit that self-obsession now rules.

James Russell, 30, a sales director and a regular gym-goer, conceded that the results were spot-on: “I would own up to being selfish — I like to look after the way I eat and look.”

Jenny Clark, a 39-year-old mortgage adviser, said: “Yes, I do care about personal standards. I go to the gym to look nice because I don’t want to let myself go.”

Whether this devotion to narcissism is of lasting benefit, however, is a moot point. Google’s records show that searches for the words gym and Pilates, for example, rocket at Christmas only to plummet in January. In addition, St Albans ranks third (behind Salford and Manchester) for looking up information on divorce.

Although Google is cautious about refining the data to city level, its results for Liverpool seem to chime with stereotypes. Locals are known for dolling themselves up for a night out and Liverpool tops the list of searches for the brand names Armani, Versace and Adidas.

That finding does not surprise Paul Dougherty, owner of Script Menswear in Liverpool, who said that local mothers “save up” to buy £150 trainers for their children.

“People always think that Scousers wear shell suits but when people come to the city they are shocked to find it’s not like that,” he said. “Everyone in Liverpool has to wear designer from top to toe — it is just part of the culture.”

Paul Longley, professor of geographic information science at University College London, said that the internet age is throwing up a mass of new data about local cultures for geographers and historians. “A significant component of who you are is where you are from,” he said.

The sheer quantity of information at Google’s disposal, and the fact that it is constantly changing, can make it hard to discern what it signifies.

Gloucester, for example, tops the list of searches for the word pig. Is that because it is the home of the Gloucester old spot and locals are obsessed with porkers? You might think Winchester, a city renowned for its statue of King Alfred, was interested in monarchy — but it tops the list of searches for Hitler.

Gateshead leads the way in searching for Winslet. Meanwhile the locals of Hull, home of the deputy prime minister, are obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio. Does this mean that John Prescott has moved on from his recently expressed admiration for Marlon Brando?

Other findings seem to make eminent sense. London leads in searches for champagne and caviar; Glasgow for whisky and haggis. Aberdeen leads for savings and debt; and Thames Ditton, in the Surrey stockbroker belt, is top for private schools and nannies.

Abingdon, in Oxfordshire, still betrays the royalist support evident in the English civil wars of the 17th century. Locals there are the keenest to find out about the Queen and the rest of the royal family.

On the other hand Bradford, somewhat disturbingly, tops the list for searches of Osama Bin Laden and jihad. Gerry Sutcliffe, Labour MP for Bradford South, warned of reading too much into the findings. “We have seen a great coming together in Bradford after the Kashmir earthquake and the July 7 bombings,” he said.

Paul Miller, from Demos, the think tank, believes that Google Trends is itself setting a trend that will prove useful. “There are a lot of these tools tapping into the idea that the web can tell us something about ourselves,” he said.

What many want to know, it seems, is where are people most interested in sex? The answer is Basildon, spiritual home of the Essex girl. But here is a tip for Basildonians looking for love: don’t accept a blind date from Brentford, north London. It tops the list of searches for Viagra.

Additional reporting: Alex Delmar-Morgan

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