RESTON, Va., Feb 17, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on the top social networking sites in India, finding that visitation to the site category increased 51 percent from the previous year to more than 19 million visitors in December 2008. The study also found that global social networking brands continued to gain prominence in India during the year, with Orkut, Facebook, hi5, LinkedIn and MySpace each witnessing significant increases in visitation.

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"Social networking continued to grow strongly in India this past year, with several of the top global brands carving out a more prominent position," said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice president. "While there is certainly room for several players in the social networking space in India, the sites that have the right blend of having both a strong brand and cultural relevance will be best positioned for future growth."

Orkut Tops List of Social Networking Sites in India

Orkut reigned as the most visited social networking site in December 2008 with more than 12.8 million visitors, an increase of 81 percent from the previous year. Orkut's audience was three times the size of its nearest competitor in the category. Facebook.com captured the #2 position with 4 million visitors, up 150 percent versus year ago, followed by local social networking site Bharatstudent.com with 3.3 million visitors (up 88 percent) and hi5.com with 2 million visitors (up 182 percent).

    Top Social Networking Sites in India by Unique Visitors
    December 2008 vs. December 2007
    Total India - Age 15+, Home/Work Locations*
    Source: comScore World Metrix
                                           Total Unique Visitors (000)
                                     Dec-07          Dec-08        % Change
    Total Internet: Total Audience   26,240          32,099            22
    Social Networking                12,795          19,369            51
    Orkut                             7,123          12,869            81
    Facebook.com                      1,619           4,044           150
    Bharatstudent.com                 1,736           3,269            88
    hi5.com                             714           2,012           182
    ibibo.Com                         1,970             990           -50
    MySpace Sites                       352             741           110
    LinkedIn.com                        293             513            75
    PerfSpot.com                      2,106             433           -79
    BIGADDA.com                         515             385           -25
    Fropper.com                         256             248            -3

    * Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes and access
      from mobile phones or PDAs.

In Asia-Pacific Region, Social Networking Shines in Singapore

An overview of social networking activity in the Asia-Pacific region revealed that many of the countries with the highest reach in social networking also exhibited the highest level of site engagement. Singapore led the region in terms of penetration, with more than 74 percent of its online population visiting a social networking site in December 2008. Social networking visitors in Singapore also posted the most visits per visitor to the category with an average of 19 during the month.

Other countries in the region that displayed strong social networking penetration and engagement included Australia, South Korea and Malaysia. Despite the strong growth in India during the past year, it showed below average penetration and engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

    Asia-Pacific Social Networking Overview
    December 2008
    Total Asia-Pacific - Age 15+, Home/Work Locations*
    Source: comScore World Metrix
                                                Social Networking
                                                     Average       Average
                                     % Reach        Minutes per   Visits per
                                                     Visitor       Visitor
    Asia Pacific**                     60.6           137.0          11.4
    Singapore                          74.3           175.6          19.1
    Australia                          68.3           224.3          17.8
    South Korea                        68.0           277.8          15.1
    Malaysia                           66.6           181.2          14.2
    Hong Kong                          62.8           127.7          13.7
    New Zealand                        62.8           185.7          13.8
    India                              60.3           110.4          10.4
    Japan                              50.9            72.8           9.9
    China                              45.6            89.5           7.4
    Taiwan                             42.4            36.1           5.1

    *  Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes or access
       from mobile phones or PDAs.

    ** Improvements to Internet population
       estimates in certain countries have recently been made. We caution
       against trending with data prior to July 2008.

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

http://www.comscore.com

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