Facebook now more popular than Google

Facebook has replaced Google for the first time as the site at which people spend the most time online, according to new data from research firm ComScore.

The social networking site claimed 9.9 per cent of the total time US citizens spent surfing the web in August, roughly 41 million minutes in total.

Google was a close second with 9.6 per cent, followed by Yahoo Sites with 9.1 per cent.

Yahoo had controlled the biggest time share since the earliest ComScore report in June of 2007, but was overtaken by Google last month.

Facebook and Google have seen their shares of user time grow rapidly in the past three years. Facebook pulled in just 1.7 per cent of time spent online in June 2007, while Google recorded 3.7 per cent.

Yahoo, meanwhile, has seen a decline in its share of user time. The company's 9.1 per cent was the lowest that ComScore has reported, and is down from a high of 14.3 per cent in October 2008.

Facebook, however, has held the top online spot in other areas. Research from Hitwise in March placed the company as top in total hits in the US, overtaking Google for the first time in nearly three years.