A reality TV cooking show which forced Australia's Prime Minister off a primetime slot for an election debate proved its popularity again, outstripping the upcoming vote in cyberspace.

"Masterchef" is such a hit with Australians that Sunday's debate between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott has been moved forward one hour to avoid clashing with the series finale.

And Google Australia said there were twice as many searches about the culinary ratings-buster on the internet than there were about the August 21 election.

But interest in the national poll was growing, a Google official said, with its popularity highest, unsurprisingly, in the Australian Capital Territory - home to the nation's politicians and public service.

"Masterchef is obviously a hugely popular search term, but elections have actually had the fastest rise in searches," she said.

Ms Gillard could also take heart from her personal cyber rating, being the subject of more searches than any Masterchef contestant and twice as popular as challenger Abbott in the key battleground state of Queensland.

The Prime Minister, who is seeking a second term for the ruling Labour party, this week said she understood "the fascination with cooking and eating".