• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, July 28, 2006

A recent comScore Media Metrix release of its monthly analysis of consumer activity at top online properties and categories, reports that Internet users from more than 35 countries worldwide visited the official World Cup site at fifaworldcup.yahoo.com, which received an average of nearly 4 million daily visitors worldwide. 4.3 billion pages were viewed by fans around the world from June 9 - July 9. And, American interest in the World Cup Tournament drove the Online Gambling category into the top ten gaining category list, making it the second-highest gainer during the month of June.

Online video and community sites continued to gain popularity in June, says the report, as Youtube.com became the 58th most-visited site on the Web with 13.4 million visitors, and MySpace.com visitation grew 2 percent, while many of the Web's largest sites were flat or down for the month.

Peter Daboll, CEO of comScore Media Metrix, said "Sites offering opportunities for social interaction continue to dominate the ratings... NBC's partnership with Youtube is a clear indication that marketers recognize the power, reach and marketing potential of online video..."

The average U.S. visitor spent more than 44 minutes on the (World Cup) web site. Although only 25 percent of total worldwide visitors to the site were from the U.S., Americans viewed 52 pages per day, and viewed 80 pages per day from workplace computers.

Not coincidentally, U.S. traffic to Online Gambling sites, which includes sites like Sporting Bet PLC (which had 1.8 million visitors in June, an 81-percent increase versus May), increased as fans went online to place World Cup bets. The Online Gambling category represented the second-biggest category-gainer, attracting 23.3 million U.S. visitors in June, a 13-percent increase versus May.

In June:

• Yahoo! Sites remained the number one property, attracting more than 128 million unique visitors
• Time Warner Network held its number two position with more than 120 million unique visitors
• ESPN, with a 10-percent increase in unique visitors, climbied four spots to number 32
• With the end of the school year, youngsters spent more time surfing the Internet, as reflected in increases to Disney Online, jumping from number 30 to number 19
• Americans, sharing their summer vacation experiences, pushed Photobucket.com into the top 50 at number 47, attracting just under 14 million unique visitors

The press release with accompanying tables is available here.