The Poynter Institute has released the results from their Eyetrack III and the results for homepage layout map very closely to previously reported data from SURL.
Originally from http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/images/eyemovement.jpg
These results lead to a common UI schema for corporate sites, the question becomes knowing if (and when) to break the rules. The VW site breaks from these rules, and I can always find what I am looking for. I guess know when and how to break these rules effectively is the difference between the art and the science of web page design.
Courtesy of Ryan Feeley