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Nov 19, 2008

Eighty Five Percent of Brazilian Internet Users Visited a Social Networking Site in September 2008

RESTON, Va., Nov 19, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ --

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results from a study of the state of the Internet in Brazil, which includes a focus on social networking, one of the country's most popular Internet categories. comScore's data show that 85 percent of Brazilians age 15 and older who accessed the Internet from home or work computers in September 2008 visited a social networking site, up from 76 percent in September 2007. Compared to other countries with Internet populations of at least 10 million monthly unique visitors, Brazil had the second highest percent reach in the social networking category, slightly behind Canada with 87 percent.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO)

These findings, as well as additional industry insights, will be presented during a complimentary Portuguese-language webinar, entitled State of the Internet in Brazil, on Wednesday, November 26 at 3 p.m. San Paulo time (see webinar details below).


    Percent Reach for Social Networking Category in Selected Countries*
    September 2008 vs. September 2007
    Total Worldwide, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations**
    Source: comScore World Metrix

      Country                                     Percent Reach
                                     Sep-2007        Sep-2008    Point Change
    Canada                             83.9            86.5           2.6
    Brazil                             76.0            85.3           9.3
    United Kingdom                     78.7            78.4          -0.3
    Mexico                             67.3            73.0           5.7
    Spain                              63.9            70.7           6.8
    United States                      65.8            70.2           4.5
    Australia                          56.5            67.5          11.1
    Germany                            45.9            65.5          19.6
    Italy                              53.0            62.2           9.1
    Netherlands                        55.7            61.3           5.6
    Russian Federation                 36.3            60.7          24.4
    India                              50.9            60.3           9.4
    France                             51.4            59.1           7.7
    South Korea                        52.3            58.3           6.0
    Japan                              56.4            55.7          -0.7
    China                              44.7            50.3           5.6
    Taiwan                             48.1            42.9          -5.2

    *  Includes countries with a total Internet population of at least
       10 million unique visitors in September 2008.
    ** Excludes traffic from public computers, such as Internet cafes or
       access from mobile phones/PDAs.



"For Internet users in Brazil, social networking continues to flourish as a hugely popular activity," said Alex Banks, managing director of Latin America for comScore. "One likely reason for social networking's success in Brazil is that its concept of online community closely aligns with the culture in Brazil, which is also centered on a strong sense of community and social activity."

Social Networking Penetration High Throughout Latin America

In addition to Brazil, social networking is a popular Internet pastime across much of Latin America. Nearly 9 out of 10 people in the region visited a social networking site in September 2008, up 9 percentage points from September 2007. While social networking among Latin American nations had the highest reach in Brazil, comScore data show that Chile and Colombia were not far behind with 80 percent reach. Though Puerto Rico had the lowest penetration (71 percent) for the social networking category, it saw the largest gain versus year ago with a 10-percentage point increase.


    Percent Reach for Social Networking Category in Latin America
    September 2008 vs. September 2007
    Total Latin America, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations*
    Source: comScore World Metrix

      Country                                     Percent Reach
                                     Sep-2007        Sep-2008    Point Change
    Latin America                      78.0            87.2           9.3
    Brazil                             76.0            85.3           9.3
    Chile                              74.0            80.1           6.1
    Colombia                           69.9            79.6           9.7
    Argentina                          70.4            77.1           6.7
    Venezuela                          69.1            77.1           8.0
    Mexico                             67.3            73.0           5.7
    Puerto Rico                        60.5            70.5          10.0

    *  Excludes traffic from public computers, such as Internet cafes or
       access from mobile phones/PDAs.



Orkut is the Dominant Social Networking Site in Brazil

With 21 million unique visitors in September 2008, Google-owned Orkut was by far the most visited social network site in Brazil. Visitors spent an average of 496 minutes on the site during the month, with an average of 28 visits per visitor, ranking Orkut as the social networking site with the highest engagement also.


    Visitation and Engagement for Selected Social Networking Sites in Brazil
    September 2008
    Total Brazil, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations*
    Source: comScore World Metrix


                                   Total Unique       Average        Average
    Selected Social Networking       Visitors         Minutes      Visits per
     Sites                             (000)        per Visitor      Visitor
    Total Internet : Total Audience   26,221         1,608.1          47.5
    Orkut                             20,752           496.1          28.3
    Yahoo! Geocities                   3,916             2.8           1.8
    SONICO.COM                         2,978            10.1           2.7
    MINGLEBOX.COM                      1,677             1.6           2.4
    FOTOLOG.COM                        1,606            22.1           5.3
    8P.COM.BR                          1,463            11.2           1.9
    MULTIPLY.COM                       1,189             4.4           1.5
    HI5.COM                            1,142            10.6           2.0
    Lycos Tripod                       1,115             1.8           1.4
    MYSPACE.COM                          893            13.2           2.3
    LIMEALL.COM                          387             0.6           1.7
    DEVIANTART.COM                       386             7.3           1.8
    FACEBOOK.COM                         360            14.2           2.7


    *  comScore Media Metrix monitors the online activities of individuals in
       Brazil within a universe defined as those aged 15+ who have accessed
       the Internet from either a home or a work computer in the past 30 days.
       It excludes traffic from public computers, such as Internet cafes or
       access from mobile phones/PDAs. Since a significant number of consumers
       in Brazil access the Internet from outside this universe definition,
       comScore has developed an Extended Universe for the online population
       in Brazil, which is computed differently from comScore's Total Internet
       estimate. comScore estimates Brazil's Extended Universe to be
       56.2 million.



"With more than five times the number of unique visitors as any other social networking site in Brazil, Orkut has a commanding position in the marketplace," said Banks. "The site is a particularly attractive venue for advertisers because it is able to deliver both a large and highly engaged audience."

Webinar: The State of the Internet in Brazil

Alex Banks, comScore's managing director for Latin America, will present a strategic view of global Internet trends as well as specific insights into Internet usage in Brazil in an upcoming Portuguese-language webinar. The webinar will include an analysis of differences in Internet usage patterns across worldwide regions, insights into audience growth and changes in consumer demographics as well as a general overview of online behavior in Brazil.

To register for the free, Portuguese-language webinar being held on Wednesday, November 26 at 3 p.m. San Paulo time, please visit: http://www.comscore.com/brazil.

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/boilerplate.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

http://www.comscore.com

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