Most popular Asian sites
By Pulkit Sharma

ComScore, which collects facts and figures on the internet, has just released its May 2010 ranking of the top online properties in the Asia-Pacific region. Google Sites led as the most-visited property in the region reaching 55 percent of the online population, while Tencent led in engagement with visitors averaging 6.5 hours at the property during the month.

“Home to nearly half of the world’s online population, the Asia-Pacific region represents a wealth of opportunity for both local and global brands in the digital media space,” said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice president for the Asia-Pacific region. “With an average Internet user in the region spending nearly 17 hours a month online, brands not currently using this channel are missing a significant opportunity to reach and engage audiences. For most brands, having an online presence is no longer optional, it’s a marketing necessity.”

In May 2010, Google Sites ranked as the most-visited property in the Asia-Pacific region, reaching 270 million unique visitors during the month, followed by Microsoft Sites with 218.5 million visitors and Yahoo! Sites with 205 million visitors. Baidu.com Inc. and Tencent Inc. secured the fourth and fifth most-visited positions with 177 million visitors and 174 million visitors, respectively.

In terms of engagement among the top 20 most-visited properties, Tencent Inc. ranked as the most-engaging property with visitors averaging 6.5 hours on the site during the month, consuming 716 pages of content and visiting the property an average of 39 times. Facebook.com also witnessed strong engagement, with visitors spending 3.5 hours on the social networking site and visiting more than 21 times throughout the month.

While a number of Chinese websites were on the list, not a single Indian site made the cut.

If you needed more proof that Facebook is a serious threat to Google, this research showed that in the IT-BPO hub of Philippines, Facebook.com reigned as the most-visited destination reaching 93 percent of online users, the highest penetration of any global market for the social networking site.