Latins prefer Microsoft to Google

It seems that Google magic doesn't work quite as well in the rest of the world. At least, not yet. Earlier this month, internet research firm comScore released a new study that put Google a few steps behind the competition in Asia-Pacific, and now it says that Larry, Serg, and the gang are also trailing in Latin America.

According to the firm's first-ever study of Latin American internet usage, Google tops arch-rival Yahoo! but still plays second fiddle to mega-arch-rival Microsoft. In June, the study says, Microsoft sites received over 47m unique visitors, while Google's traffic topped out at close to 46.5m. Yahoo!? Well behind at 35m! All this means that Microsoft reaches about 88 per cent of Latin America's mostly-Spanish-speaking internet population, Google 87 per cent, and Yahoo! a mere 65 per cent.

comScore's list of the region's top ten destinations also includes two European ISPs: Spain's Terra Networks ranks fourth, with 24.4m visitors, and France Telecom is tenth, with 13.8m. comScore has no explanation for the popularity of France Telecom, but we think it has something to do with the company's recent launch of its Orange mobile and internet service provider south of the Pyrenees.

As you might expect, Brazil boasts the largest number of net users in Latin America - 15.8m over the age of 15 - but that accounts for only 11 per cent of the country's overall population. Believe it or not, Chileans are the most likely to be online: 45 per cent of the population used the Net in June. And Argentina? It's net users are the most active, hitting the web an average of 18 days each month. But they're relatively small in number: 7m, or 24 per cent of the country's total population.®