RESTON, VA, April 5, 2007 – comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study on visitation to the Web sites of top 2008 Democratic presidential contenders Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). The study revealed several interesting differences between the visitor bases to their respective campaign Web sites, giving some insight into which demographic segments are demonstrating early interest in these candidates.

Surges in site visitation corresponded with the two Senators’ official declarations of their candidacies for president. Clinton’s announcement on January 20, 2007 helped her top Obama in January with 313,000 unique visitors in the U.S., compared to Obama’s 297,000. In contrast, Obama generated a traffic boost from his announcement on February 10, 2007, drawing 376,000 visitors during the month to top Clinton’s total of 206,000.

Younger Visitors Favor BarackObama.com

With 33 percent of visitors to BarackObama.com under the age of 35, as compared 19 percent of visitors to HillaryClinton.com, Senator Obama’s site is clearly attracting a younger online audience. Most notably, visitors between the ages of 18-24 were 48 percent more likely than average to visit Obama’s site, indicating a strong affinity for Senator Obama among the college-aged crowd.

*Composition Index = (Percent of visitors to site/Percent of total Internet users) x 100; Index of 100 equals parity

“Historically, few political campaigns have focused on reaching out to 18-24 year olds because they are a notoriously unreliable voting bloc,” said Andrew Lipsman, senior analyst at comScore. “Indeed, our data show that 18-24 year olds are 20 percent less likely than average to visit political Web sites. Thus, it is particularly noteworthy that BarackObama.com is attracting such heavy interest among 18-24 year olds, because it speaks to Senator Obama’s ability to mobilize younger voters and offers an early indication that they may play a more significant role than usual in the 2008 elections.”

HillaryClinton.com Draws Heavier Interest among Wealthiest Households

Both sites attract visitors from higher-income households, but the wealthiest households – those with at least $100,000 in annual income – were 57 percent more likely than average to visit HillaryClinton.com and just 18 percent more likely to visit BarackObama.com.

Both Clinton and Obama were also more likely than average to draw African-American visitors. Specifically, African-Americans were 20 percent more likely than the average Internet user to visit HillaryClinton.com and 127 percent more likely to visit BarackObama.com.

*Composition Index = (Percent of visitors to site/Percent of total Internet users) x 100; Index of 100 equals

“Given the importance of the African-American vote in the Democratic primaries, both camps should be pleased that they’re attracting heavier than average online interest from that demographic, with Senator Obama faring particularly well,” added Lipsman. “With campaign Web sites now being used very effectively as fundraising vehicles, it’s clear that a key advantage for Senator Clinton is the deeper pockets of her core visitor base – though as Senator Obama has already demonstrated, the number of online donors also matters.”

About comScore Media Metrix

comScore Media Metrix, a product line of comScore, provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report details of online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local U.S. markets and across the globe. comScore Media Metrix continues the tradition of quality and innovation established by its Media Metrix syndicated Internet ratings – long recognized as a currency in online media measurement among financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers – while drawing upon comScore's advanced technologies to address important new industry requirements. The comScore Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

About comScore

comScore, Inc. is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers 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 captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes.  comScore consultants apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI.  comScore services are used by global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Expedia.  For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.