Facebook Surpasses Google as the Most Visited Website in US in 2010

Facebook has claimed the Internet's top spot from Google as the most visited website in the United States in 2010, according to a new study from online measurement service Experian Hitwise.

The social network, which was the subject of a Hollywood film in 2010, was the top-visited website for the first time and accounted for 8.9 percent of all US visits between January and November 2010, reports the Daily Mail.

The world's Internet search leader Google ranked second with about 7.2 percent of all visits.

However, taking into account all of Google's websites, such as YouTube and Gmail, it still reigns as the most visited site at 9.9 percent of the visits, ahead of Facebook's 8.9 percent and 8.1 percent gained by Yahoo! sites.

Facebook, a site launched only six short years ago by Mark Zuckerberg, has quickly ascended to number one position with over 500 millon users.

Its success points to a social change that profoundly alters how people get news and interact with one another - and even redefines the word 'friend'.

According to Experian Hitwise, Facebook jumped to the top spot after spending last year in third place and ranking ninth the year before.

Its rise suggested that Internet users are moving away from cold search engines and relying more on the knowledge and recommendations of their friends and family.

"This is the most transformational shift in the history of the Internet. We're moving from a Google-centric web to a people-centric Web," said Lou Kerner, a social-media analyst with Wedbush Securities - and former chief executive of Bolt.com, an early networking site.

On Christmas Day, Facebook overtook Google as the most visited site in the UK.

Source: ANI