It’s the oldest trick in the book. Destroy the credibility and character of a high-profile woman by simply finding a salacious picture of or rumor about her and make sure as many people as possible see it or hear about it. Don’t have such a picture?

Just make one up.

It’s no surprise that Americans revved up their Internet search engines immediately after Sen. John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. In only a few days, the number of U.S. Internet searches for the name "Sarah Palin" has soared higher than any other politico in the last three years, according to the media company Smart Brief, Inc.

But the marketers of the politics of personal destruction — or perhaps just a bored Internet blogger — have used the popularity of the Sarah Palin search query to create a viral frenzy over an insidiously faked Photoshopped picture of Gov. Palin in a red, white and blue bikini holding a gun. Overnight, this image is appearing as an actual photo from her past and is being posted on thousands of blogs and message boards worldwide.

Want proof?

Google the term "Sarah Palin Bikini Photos," a rising Internet search.

While many in the blogosphere know that the photo is a compilation of Gov. Palin’s head on the body of an anonymous gun-toting bikini-clad lass, it is also being embedded into countless sites as a true representation of the candidate. Clearly, this is an image that has been carefully crafted to ignite the worst kinds of misogynistic, hyper-partisan commentary.

Click here to see the step-by-step photoshop process of creating the Sarah Palin Bikini Photo Fraud.