THE rise of China as an economic superpower was the most read news story of the past decade, surpassing the Iraq War and the attacks of September 11, according to an analysis by a United States-based media tracking group.

The Global Language Monitor, which uses an algorithm to search printed and electronic media and the Internet for trends in word usage, said there was strong interest in the Asian powerhouse, the world's third-biggest economy.

"The rise of China to new economic heights has changed - and continues to challenge - the current international order," said Paul J. J. Payack, president of the Global Language Monitor.

"It is with little surprise that its ongoing transformation has topped all other news stories in a decade bespotted by war, economic catastrophe, and natural disasters."

He said the list was compiled based on the number of citations over the course of the decade on the Internet, the blogosphere, including social media, as well as the top 50,000 print and electronic media sites.

The China story topped news about the 2003 Iraq War, the September 11, 2001 attacks, the ensuing war on terror, and the sudden death this year of Michael Jackson at the age of 50.

Also highly rated were the election of Barack Obama to the US presidency last year, the global recession of 2008-9, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 and the war in Afghanistan.