SINGAPORE, March 27, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore Releases First Public Report of Online Usage in Singapore

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its first overview of Web usage in Singapore. The report includes a ranking of the most engaging and visited Internet site categories and properties, based on the comScore World Metrix service, and the top search properties, based on the comScore qSearch service. In February 2009, more than 2.5 million people in Singapore age 15 and older accessed the Internet from home and work locations, consuming an average of 1,785 pages of content and accessing the Internet an average of 21 hours per person.

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"Singapore is one of the most advanced digital markets in the Asia-Pacific region and represents a growing opportunity for digital marketers," said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice president. "The combination of high broadband penetration, heavy online engagement and the overall tech savvy of Internet users in Singapore make it an ideal market for the adoption of valuable existing and emerging digital technologies, including search, social media and online video."

Instant Messaging Captures Largest Share of Singaporeans' Time Online

Internet users in Singapore averaged 21 hours online per visitor during February, with online communication, entertainment, and social networking topping the list of how users were most likely to spend their time. Highlighting the particular significance of online communication in Singapore, Instant Messaging captured 24 percent of total minutes, making it the leading activity, while Web-based email accounted for 6 percent.

Singaporeans spent 14 percent of their online time at the Entertainment category, which includes popular Web brands like YouTube and MediaCorp, while social networking accounted for 8 percent.

    Top Site Categories in Singapore Based on Time Spent
    February 2009
    Total Singapore Internet Audience*, Age 15+ - Home &
    Work Locations
    Source: comScore World Metrix

                         Share (%) of Total
                          Minutes Spent Online
    Total Internet                        100.0%
    Instant Messengers                     24.2%
    Entertainment                          13.8%
    Social Networking                       8.0%
    e-mail                                  5.7%
    Online Gaming                           2.4%
    Search/Navigation                       2.3%
    Blogs                                   2.1%
    Business/Finance                        1.9%
    Community                               1.5%
    News/Information                        1.3%
    All Other Categories                   37.0%

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

Facebook and Friendster Rank as Two of the Most Visited Online Properties

Google Sites ranked as the most visited Internet property in Singapore with 2 million visitors in February 2009, reaching nearly 80 percent of the online population. Microsoft Sites followed in second with 1.9 million visitors (77 percent reach), while Yahoo! Sites ranked third with 1.8 million visitors (70 percent reach).

Social networking sites also made an appearance in the ranking, including Facebook.com, which reached more than 1 million visitors and ranked as the fourth most visited property in February, and Friendster.com, which ranked sixth with 838,000 visitors.

    Top Internet Properties in Singapore Based on Unique Visitors
    February 2009
    Total Singapore Internet Audience*, Age 15+ - Home & Work
    Locations
    Source: comScore World Metrix

                         Total Unique
                          Visitors (000)        % Reach
    Total Internet                 2,523           100.0%
    Google Sites                   2,009            79.6%
    Microsoft Sites                1,929            76.5%
    Yahoo! Sites                   1,757            69.7%
    Facebook.com                   1,128            44.7%
    Wikimedia Foundation
     Sites                           848            33.6%
    Friendster.com                   838            33.2%
    CBS Interactive                  529            21.0%
    Apple Inc.                       515            20.4%
    Ask Network                      510            20.2%
    WordPress                        475            18.8%

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

Google Attracts Majority of Searches in Singapore

According to comScore qSearch, 221 million searches were conducted in Singapore in February, a 43-percent increase versus year ago. Google Sites led the search market with 146 million searches conducted (66 percent search market share), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 39 million searches (17 percent) and Baidu.com Inc. with 8 million searches (4 percent). Google searchers were also the most prolific with an average of 74 search queries per searcher during the month.

    Top Search Properties in Singapore by Query Volume
    February 2009
    Total Singapore Internet Audience*, Age 15+ - Home & Work
    Locations
    Source: comScore qSearch

                                      Searches
                           Searches      Per       Share of
                             (MM)      Searcher     Searches
    Total Internet               221      100.6      100.0%
    Google Sites                 146       74.0       66.0%
    Yahoo! Sites                  39       27.8       17.4%
    Baidu.com Inc.                 8       29.2        3.8%
    Microsoft Sites                5        7.4        2.5%
    Ask Network                    5        9.2        2.2%
    Sohu.com Inc.                  5       24.2        2.1%
    FACEBOOK.COM                   4        8.0        1.9%
    FRIENDSTER.COM                 3        6.6        1.3%
    Wikimedia Foundation Sites     1        5.0        0.6%
    eBay                           1        8.6        0.5%

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

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. In an independent survey of 800 of the most influential publishers, advertising agencies and advertisers conducted by William Blair & Company in January 2009, comScore was rated the 'most preferred online audience measurement service' by 50% of respondents, a full 25 points ahead of its nearest competitor. comScore's capabilities are based on a massive, global cross-section of approximately 2 million Internet users who have given comScore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that gathers and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Using its proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of digital behavior and attitudes, helping clients design more powerful marketing strategies that deliver superior ROI. With its acquisition of M:Metrics, comScore is also a leading source of data on mobile usage. comScore services are used by more than 1,100 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestle, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, the University of Chicago, Verizon Services Group and ViaMichelin. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

http://www.comscore.com

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