Stamp Collecting Personalies and Resurgence in Stamp Collecting? What is Going On?

I'd like to verify this information - does anyone know of other personalities who collect stamps? Does anyone have the eBay source data to show this trend?

Maria Sharapova, President Nicolas Sarkozy and even the Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood are among many new names now associated with collecting stamps and eBay is experiencing a surge in philatelic book sales on the online auction website.

Having just reported how the Daily Telegraph have noted the recent surge in popularity for stamp collecting, now this Evening Standard report says stamp collecting is shaking off its "fusty image" and quickly becoming the latest traditional hobby to enjoy a comeback.

According to the article the online auction site eBay reports sales of stamp collecting and philatelic books have nearly doubled in just the past week and Stanley Gibbons, the world's leading UK stamp dealers, have noted that custom has increased by almost a quarter over the past year and, significantly, its customer base has grown among young people. It is believed that 2.5 million people in Britain alone — that's over 5 per cent of the entire UK population — now collect stamps in one form or another.

Stamps and philatelic covers (envelopes bearing postmarked stamps) are very easy to trade via online auction websites like eBay and there's growing interest also reported among members of social networking websites too. So the question begs, instead of killing off interest in many traditional hobbies as some people fear, will the internet now underpin a viral growth of renewed interest for philately and stamp collecting?