Ever since most of its steel mills closed, Pittsburgh has been a city in search of a new, more modern image.

How do outsiders see us? As a pall of smoke hovering over three rivers? As a nexus of education and culture? As a place where we put coleslaw and fries on our sandwiches?

Which should we tout more? Our sporting heroics at Heinz Field or our triumphs in medicine, robotics and software?

For a more independent perspective on how Pittsburgh presents itself, why not look where most people look for information these days: Google.

Google claims that its Internet searches "put the most relevant and reliable results first." While the results of any particular search are bound to fluctuate almost daily, and while different search engines like Yahoo! or Pittsburgh's own Clusty rank results differently, searching online for "Pittsburgh" gives us a rare chance to get a dissociated glimpse of our town.

The first few results on Google offer Web sites that give general information about Pittsburgh -- from basic facts and figures to more nuanced guides that suggest where to go and what to see.

Shortly thereafter, some local quirks start to reveal themselves. For example, the notion that Pittsburghers are particularly preoccupied with the weather is evidenced in cyberspace, as three of the top 35 results for "Pittsburgh" point users towards local weather forecasts.

Also apparent is the city's strong religious presence, particularly among Christian denominations. Not surprisingly, the Diocese of Pittsburgh comes in first at No. 18, followed by the Pittsburgh Presbytery at No. 37, the Episcopal Diocese at No. 46 and the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy at No. 82. Other religious entities make appearances later, such as the Hindu Sri Venkateswara Temple at No. 247 and the Islamic Center at No. 415.

And where would the city be without sports? A hearty 17 of the top 100 results deal with local sports, from the official sites of the Penguins, Steelers and Pirates, at Nos. 10, 11 and 14, respectively, to the surprisingly high-ranking home pages of the lesser-known women's professional football team, the Pittsburgh Passion (No. 40), and the Harlequins Rugby Club (No. 70).

Also near the top of the results are an abundance of our city's fine educational and cultural institutions, such as the University of Pittsburgh (No. 6), the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium (No. 17) and the Pittsburgh Symphony (No. 20).

But as is so often the case with our city, not everything lives up to preconceptions.

Despite Pittsburgh's reputation as the Steel City, not one of the first 100 results for "Pittsburgh" has anything to do with steel. In fact, the only top-100 results that hint at our blue-collar reputation are local businesses Pittsburgh Paints (No. 28) and Pittsburgh Corning Glass Block (No. 64), with the first steel-related entry, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, coming in at No. 174.

Maybe most surprising, at least to locals, would be the high rank of several institutions pushing for the betterment of Pittsburgh. Examples are the environmental activists at Sustainable Pittsburgh (No. 42) and the Web-standard champions at Refresh Pittsburgh (No. 68). Also present are the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (No. 39) and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (No. 44).

So what does this all mean? Maybe nothing.

Still, outsiders probably search Pittsburgh more than we locals. We're not likely to look for things we already know about, which could explain why a place like Kennywood shows up at No. 416, well behind the University of Pittsburgh Philosophy Department at No. 27.

Nevertheless, seeing places like the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center at No. 22 while local stalwarts Primanti's and Iron City are nowhere to be found in the top 500 brings to mind the immortal words of Bob Dylan: "The times, they are a-changin'."

And so, as the city continues its 250th birthday celebrations through the end of year, we should be proud of our region's pioneering, revolutionary and industrial past. But we should also face the future with confidence. After all, The New York Times recently called us "hip."