According to a survey by Brandchannel.com, Google leads the pack as the most influential global brand, notes Macworld UK. “Over the past five years, Apple has won the title twice, in 2001 and 2004, while Google has won the rest of the time. Google Earth, Google Mini, Desktop Search and its popular stock all helped Google win the award in 2005,” notes the story. This year Apple takes second place globally, although it did come in first place in North America. Rounding out the top five are Skype, Starbucks in fourth, and Ikea in fifth place.