Social Networking Has Banner Year in France, Growing 45 Percent

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LONDON, U.K. – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released the results of a study of social networking site usage in Europe, with a particular focus on France, based on data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service. The study showed that 22 million French Internet users visited at least one social networking site in December 2008, reaching 64 percent of the total French Internet audience.

Social Networking Attracts Three Quarters of European Internet Users
Of the 282.7 million European Internet users age 15 and older who went online via a home or work computer in December 2008, 211 million visited a social networking site – representing a penetration of 74.6 percent. Of the 16 individual European countries included in the study, social networking reach was relatively low in France, at 63.9 percent, compared with 79.8 percent in the U.K. or 73.7 percent in Spain. Despite its relatively low penetration, France’s social networking audience (21.7 million visitors in December) was the third largest in Europe behind the U.K. (29.3 million visitors) and Germany (24.9 million visitors).

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European Social Networking Reach by Country
Total Europe, Age 15+ – Home & Work Locations*
December 2008
Source: comScore World Metrix
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Country            Total Unique Visitors (000)   % Reach of Country’s
to Social Networking            Total Internet
Category                     Audience
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Europe                      210,950                         74.6
United Kingdom               29,263                         79.8
Spain                        13,185                         73.7
Portugal                      2,705                         72.9
Denmark                       2,390                         69.7
Italy                        14,408                         69.3
Belgium                       3,668                         68.2
Germany                      24,901                         67.3
Ireland                       1,131                         66.9
Finland                       2,061                         66.2
Sweden                        3,733                         65.4
Switzerland                   2,804                         64.7
France                       21,745                         63.9
Russia                       18,427                         63.5
Netherlands                   7,438                         63.0
Norway                        1,732                         58.9
Austria                       2,120                         49.7
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*Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Facebook Now the Most Popular Social Networking Site in France
More than 21.7 million French Internet users visited a social networking site in December 2008, up 45 percent versus the previous year. Facebook.com ranked as the most popular social networking site with 12 million visitors, growing 443 percent over the course of the past year after launching a French language user interface in February. Skyrock ranked second with 11 million visitors (up 8 percent), followed by another French site, L’internaute Copains d’Avant, which enjoyed impressive 112 percent growth throughout the year to reach 5.8 million visitors in December. MySpace Sites (3 million visitors) and Flickr.com (1.8 million visitors) rounded out the top five.

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A Selection of Leading Social Networking Sites
Ranked by Total French Unique Visitors (000)*
Total France, Age 15+ – Home & Work Locations
December 2008 vs. December 2007
Source: comScore World Metrix
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Property                        Dec-2007        Dec-2008      % Change

Total French Internet Audience    28,729          34,010           18%
Social Networking                 14,984          21,745           45%
Facebook.com                       2,211          11,996          443%
Skyrock                           10,221          11,042            8%
Linternaute Copains d Avant        2,709           5,753          112%
MySpace Sites                      2,597           2,994           15%
Flickr.com                           824           1,809          120%
Trombi.com                         1,144           1,456           27%
Hi5.com                              528             980           86%
Netlog.com                           738             920           25%
Viadeo                               334             904          171%
Badoo.com                            563             733           30%
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*Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

“2008 was a significant year for social networking in France,” said Mike Read, SVP and Managing Director of comScore, Europe. “Not only was it a year that saw significant growth, but it was also a period in which Facebook took the category by storm after translating its interface into French early in the year. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2009 as Facebook and native social network, Skyrock, battle for the top position in the French market.”

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