Many of our friends look set to be dressing in feathers this Halloween, as new research has revealed that the most popular Halloween costumes this year will be of the avian variety.

Angry Birds topped the list of costume-related searches from Google, with Natalie Portman's troubled character from Black Swan coming a close second.

Continuing the animal theme was Wilfred, the man-dressed-as-a-dog character from the TV series of the same name.

Also ranking high on the list were celebrities Nicki Minaj and Charlie Sheen, while Smurfette, Tangled's Rapunzel and characters from Monster High were proving popular with younger users.

TV's Sixties revival has also had an impact. NBC's The Playboy Club has inspired the return of the Playboy Bunny outfit, while Christina Ricci's turn as Maggie in Pan Am has made the air stewardess outfit a new hit - expect to see plenty of blue pillbox hats and jaunty sailor-style collars.

For Dominick Costello, the president of costume store Ricky’s NYC, disgraced public figures, such as the aforementioned Mr Sheen, are the big sellers.

Citing Anthony Weiner and Arnold Schwarzenegger as other customer favourites, he said: 'We call them our three musketeers.'

He added that political figures are always popular, but this year, more than ever.

'I think when Arnold, Anthony and Charlie happened in a similar time frame we were like "OK here we go,"' he said. 'It was a no-brainer.'

The idea is such a hit, that even Charlie Sheen is going as Charlie Sheen.

The actor posted a picture of the outfit on Twitter yesterday, writing: 'Trick or Treat Cadre! Got my Halloween costume.

'All set! Yeah, this really confused the kids.'

In this instance, it seems he really is winning.

(Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)