Santorum's issues with Google resurface

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DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has several challenges to build on his second-place showing in Iowa, but a Google search is perhaps his biggest.

And after his near-victory in Iowa Tuesday -- Santorum lost to Mitt Romney by eight votes -- many voters have been searching the Internet to learn more about the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.

And have they gotten an eyeful.

Google "Santorum" and the first result is a sexually explicit definition. After then-Sen. Santorum made anti-gay comments during an interview, gay columnist Dan Savage assailed Santorum and sponsored a contest that led to sexually explicit "definition" of santorum.

Santorum has been trying to get Google to eliminate the search results linked to his name for years. Santorum told ABC News that Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt basically told him "this is just how the algorithms work, and it is what it is," something Santorum says he doesn't buy.

While the issue isn't new, it became more important because of Santorum's high finish in the Iowa caucuses Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday. Santorum's last name has been a Google Trend this week.