A new report from Nielsen Online has indicated that social networking is now more popular than email among web users worldwide.
Member community sites - which include blogs and social networks - now represent the fourth most popular website category in the world, with the sector also growing twice as fast as categories such as search, portals, PC software and email.
The Global Faces and Networked Places report also showed that Facebook is the most popular social network globally, reaching three in ten web users in the UK, the US, Brazil, Spain, Italy, France, Australia, Germany and Switzerland.
Recent figures from Facebook showed that it now has more than 175 million active users around the world.
One in every 11 minutes spent on the web is accounted for by social media sites, while the fastest growing social networking user group is the 35 to 49 year old age demographic.
In addition, the study revealed that UK web users are the most likely to access a social networking site from a mobile phone.
John Burbank, chief executive of Nielsen Online, remarked: "While two thirds of the global online population already accesses member community sites, their vigorous adoption and the migration of time show no signs of slowing."
