RESTON, Va., March 18, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released several key findings from its "Digital World: State of the Internet" report. The study highlights the changing dynamics of worldwide Internet usage, as it has grown from a U.S.-centric medium to its currently global landscape.

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

In January 2008, the Asia Pacific region had more than 300 million Internet users at least 15 years of age accessing the Internet from work and home computers. This represents an increase of 14 percent versus year ago and makes Asia Pacific the largest of the five worldwide regions. Latin America and Middle East-Africa have also experienced above average audience growth during the past year, while North America and Europe have grown at more modest rates.

    Worldwide Internet Audience (000)
    January 2008 vs. January 2007
    Total Worldwide, Age 15+ - Home and Work Locations*
    Source: comScore World Metrix
                                                                   Percent
    Region                           Jan-07          Jan-08         Change
    Worldwide                       746,934         824,435         10.4%
    Asia Pacific                    271,192         308,817         13.9%
    Europe                          218,063         232,866          6.8%
    North America                   173,839         183,823          5.7%
    Latin America                    50,641          59,025         16.6%
    Middle East - Africa             33,199          39,904         20.2%

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

The "Digital World" report covers a broad array of topics illustrating the key global trends that underlie how the Internet is used around the world today. Some of the key findings include:

    -- The U.S. now accounts for 21 percent of Internet users worldwide.
       While growth in the number of Internet users in the U.S. has slowed,
       several Asian and Eastern European countries continue to add new users
       at a rapid rate.

    -- Google is the dominant search brand in most countries, including most
       of Europe and Latin America, with a few significant exceptions --
       countries where Chinese, Korean, and Russian languages dominate.

    -- Chinese language search engine Baidu currently ranks #3 in worldwide
       search market share, behind Google and Yahoo!

    -- The number of worldwide visitors to social networking sites has grown
       34 percent in the past year to 530 million, representing approximately
       2 out of every 3 Internet users. MySpace and Facebook are in a tight
       battle for the global leadership position, each attracting more than
       100 million visitors per month.

    -- Online video has become the dominant online entertainment format, led
       by the global popularity of YouTube with more than 250 million visitors
       in January.

    -- The Internet has become an important source of news for most Web users.
       The top 10 global news brands show great diversity between country of
       origin, including the U.S., U.K., China and South Korea.

The comScore "Digital World" report is priced at $4,999 for the first copy and $999 for each additional copy shipped to the same address, and can be purchased online at http://www.comscore.com/reports.

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) 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 analysts 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 nearly 900 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, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

http://www.comscore.com

Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

News Provided by COMTEX