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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were voted the top celebrity wallpaper themes in a survey of British computer users. The most common choice is to have family and friends on the screens at home and scenery on work PC screens but Hollywood's golden couple are the most popular celebrities. Screensavers and wallpaper themes are default pictures which come up on a PC screen when it is not being used or show as a background when you are using a search engine, a modern version of pin-up posters on the wall or framed photos on a desk. What is seen by workmates in public view and the more private choice for a home screen varies greatly, said the research by search engine Ask Jeeves (www.ask.co.uk). A survey of 1,000 adults found 23-30 per cent have family and friend portraits on their home PC but only 11 per cent have the same at work. Computer screens at work are more likely to have inoffensive pictures of landscapes and scenery, the top choice of 23 per cent of workers though 52 per cent have nothing at all. The chances of anyone famous beaming out from the screen are unlikely though, with just five per cent choosing to have celebrity wallpaper at home and just two per cent at work. Up to a third of all users do not change the pictures on their screen from one year to the next so the chances are the photos being shown could well be out of date. Ask Jeeves commissioned the survey because it is introducing a wider variety of themes to its search engine pages – from the top 10 dog breeds to UK scenery. Asked which celebrity themes they would choose, 20 per cent of men said Angelina Jolie, 15 per cent actress Megan Fox and 13 per cent Cameron Diaz. Only five per cent would choose Katie Price, who is even less popular than Kate Moss, with seven per cent. Among women, 11 per cent would pick Brad Pitt to adorn their screens, nine per cent say David Beckham and seven per cent Peter Andre. A mere four per cent want Simon Cowell staring at them from their machine, which is at least a little higher than the three per cent who voted for beefy actor Gerard Butler. There are differences in selections by men and women as well as regions. Seven per cent of men are proud to display their sporting allegiance through their home PC and five per cent of males would do so at work. More than one in eight (13 per cent) of women have their pets' pictures on their home computer compared to just seven per cent of men. Regionally, those in the West Midlands are most likely to have a sporting theme to their PC background, the Welsh most likely to have pets and in the South West it's holiday snaps. The survey also found more than a fifth (22 per cent) do not bother personalising their computers at all and simply pick a theme provided by their search engine or PC software. Ask Jeeves has partnered with istockphoto.com, the leading provider of royalty free images, to provide a selection of inspirational photos for the new themes. In addition, Ask Jeeves users are being offered great deals on istockphoto.com purchases. Users can continue to upload their own photos or choose from scenery, landmarks, dogs, cats, sporting themes, and flags. Christine Vonderach, Vice President of Product and Technology at Ask Jeeves, said: "People spend hours looking at their computer screen but it is surprising how many do not make an effort to improve what they are looking at." Ask Jeeves themes are stunning, simple to select, and create a nice personal touch. Our plan is to continue to improve our users' ability to customize the background on their search engine where they go every day for questions."
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