ComScore released its December rankings of the largest and fastest-growing Internet properties and site categories in the U.K. based on data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service. Facebook.com continued its ascension towards the top of the online rankings - having captured the fifth spot in the ranking in September, the social networking property moved up yet again in December to rank as the fourth most popular property. Google, Microsoft and Yahoo took the top three spots, while eBay took fifth place.

The onset of the Christmas shopping season brought increased traffic to online retail sites, with the jewelry/luxury goods/accessories category experiencing the strongest growth, followed by the mall, music, and flowers/gifts/greetings categories.

High-street retailers were particularly influenced by the seasonal uptick, with retailers such as HMV, the John Lewis Partnership and the Dixons Stores Group all enjoying strong visitor growth. The e-Cards and Shipping categories also achieved gains, while the Royal Mail Group property grew 31 percent to more than 4 million visitors.

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