London (PTI): The number of internet users globally has crossed one billion-visitor mark in December 2008, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for the highest 41 per cent, as per a leading internet marketing research firm comScore.

Total global internet audience (aged 15 above from home and work computers) has surpassed one billion visitors in December 2008, comScore said in a statement quoting data from comScore World Metrix audience measurement service.

"Surpassing one billion global users is a significant landmark in the history of the Internet. It is a monument to the increasingly unified global community in which we live and reminds us that the world truly is becoming more flat," comScore, Inc President and Chief Executive Officer Magid Abraham said.

The second billion will be online before we know it, and the third billion will arrive even faster than that, until we have a truly global network of interconnected people and ideas that transcend borders and cultural boundaries, Abraham added.

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the highest share of global internet users at 41 per cent, followed by Europe (28 percent share), North America (18 per cent share), Latin-America (7 per cent share) and the Middle East & Africa (5 per cent share), the comScore report revealed.

India boasts of the seventh highest number of internet users with as many as 32,099 visitors in December, 2008.

Meanwhile, China tops the charts in term of number of internet audience with 1,79,710 users last month constituting over 17 per cent of the global traffic.

The survey was conducted on people aged 15 years and older from home and work computers, but excludes traffic from public computers such as internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Further, the most popular property in the world in December was Google Sites, with 777.9 million visitors, followed by Microsoft Sites (647.9 million visitors), Yahoo! Sites (562.6 million), comScore report said.

Google sites attracted 77 per cent of the global internet users, followed by Microsoft sites (64 per cent), Yahoo!sites (55.8 per cent), online auction firm eBay (23.9 per cent) and Facebook.com ( 22 per cent).

Facebook.com, which has grown a dramatic 127-per cent in the past year to 222 million visitors, now ranks as the top social networking site worldwide and the seventh most popular property in the world.