Moonwalk and 9/11 photographs part of 'global visual memory'

Results of 12-nation survey show that some 'iconic' images are better known than others

From the spacesuit-clad form of Buzz Aldrin on the moon to the middle-distance gaze of Che Guevara, some photographs really are seared into the public's mind all over the world, research suggests.

While some images have long been hailed as "iconic", experts say there has been little research to show that certain photographs are widely recognised and what people read into them. An international study by a researcher in the Netherlands set out to examine just that.