Launched by Netscape's IPO in 1995, the boom spurred billions of dollars in private investment in the Internet, new technologies, marketing and fiber optic cable and led to the development of such landmark sites as Google.

"Though now often synonymous with failures ... the dotcom boom and bust was critical to fast-tracking the spread and popularity of the Internet," the Webby committee said.

The Asian tsunami in December made the top-10 list at number six, for marking the emergence of "citizen journalism" as, with news agencies racing to reach the hardest hit areas, the first accounts were largely provided by ordinary people armed only with digital cameras and Internet access.

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