• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 13, 2011

Following on a Research Brief last week noting that seven out of ten marketing and communications executives are anticipating a global marketing function within the next five years, a recent study by comScore, reports on how Internet users spend their time online in Greater China (Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong).

The report found that Portals commanded the largest share of online minutes, accounting for 24.4% of total time in Greater China, followed by the Entertainment, Search/Navigation, Social Networking and Retail site categories. These five categories combined accounted for half of all time spent online in Greater China during April.

According to the report, Internet users age 15 and older accessing the Internet in Greater China allocated the largest share of their time online to Portal sites in April. During the month:

• Portals accounted for 24.4% of time spent online in Greater China
• Entertainment sites followed accounting for 9%
• Search/Navigation comprised 6.2% of total minutes
• Social Networking accounted for 5.5% of total minutes, less than one-third of the category's percentage on a worldwide basis
• The Retail category ranked fifth with 5.0% of time spent

Xinyu Huang, newly appointed comScore senior vice president of Greater China, notes that "The digital environment is... growing and evolving... (in) Greater China... agencies, advertisers and publishers need reliable audience metrics to support burgeoning digital economies... comScore supports this growth... (with) digital measurement solutions... "

Top Web Categories by% of Time Spent April 2011 (Total Audience Greater China Age 15+; Home & Work Locations)
Web Category	% Share of Total Online Minutes
Portals	24.4%
Entertainment	9.0%
Search/Navigation	6.2%
Social Networking	5.5%
Retail	5.0%
Source: comScore Media Metrix, June 2011 (Greater China refers to the aggregate of Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs)

Analysis of the most-visited sites across these categories showed Tencent, Inc. leading as the top Portal in Greater China reaching 64.4% of all Internet users in the market. Online video provider Youku, Inc. led as the largest Entertainment site reaching, while Baidu.com Inc. ranked as the largest Search/Navigation property.

Oak Pacific Interactive Sites, which includes Renren.com, led as the most-visited Social Networking destination in Greater China reaching 17.8% of unique visitors, while Alibaba.com Corporation held the #1 spot among Retail destinations.

Top Site Categories by Reach of Unique Visitors in April 2011 (Total Audience Greater China, Age 15+; Home & Work Locations)
Category	Top Site in Category	% Reach of Total Unique Visitors
Portals	Tencent Inc.	64.4%
Entertainment	Youku Inc.	19.2%
Search/Navigation	Baidu.com Inc.	59.4%
Social Networking	Oak Pacific Interactive Sites	17.8%
Retail	Alibaba.com Corporation	36.5%
Source: comScore Media Metrix, June 2011

For more about the report and comScore media measurement participation in the greater Chinese market, please visit here.