Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but swine flu (H1N1) is less lethal than regular flu, while avian flu (????) is more lethal correct? I remember avian flu made a big stink in East Asia but was little mentioned elsewhere, but with this one....

In both cases it has a lot to do with the local population.

H1N1 is deadly, to the very young and the very old. For a healthy person, it's no worse then a bad flu. Avian Flu was regarded as such a dangerous development because, prevalent in Asia, it quickly reached pandemic levels spreading through the dense population of China.