• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 4, 2009

The Wikimedia Foundation has entered into a partnership with comScore that will help the nonprofit to track usage on Wikipedia and other Web projects that it operates. Under the deal, Wikimedia is using comScore's flagship Media Metrix measurement tool to track global site-usage statistics, interpret participation and editing trends, and develop a long-term strategy to expand into new markets such as Asia.

Wikimedia sites -- chiefly Wikipedia -- ranked as the fifth-most-trafficked property worldwide in September, with 326 million monthly unique visitors, according to comScore. (Related sites include Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikibooks and Wikiversity.) In the U.S., Wikimedia ranked No. 10, with 68 million monthly users.

In addition to giving free access to Media Metrix, comScore researchers will also assist Wikimedia with case studies and generally profiling and examining its properties for specific findings. In that vein, a recent study revealed an especially high level of time spent with Wikimedia among Latin American Internet users, particularly in Mexico and Colombia.

Japan rated the highest overall in user engagement, with an average of 17 minutes spent per visitor in September. New Zealand, Hong Kong and Australia were also in the top ten in time spent on Wikimedia sites.