More people now use social networking websites than personal email services, according to new figures from Nielsen Online.

The research company looked at online trends in the UK, the US, Brazil, Spain, Italy, France, Australia, Germany and Switzerland and found that social networking is also growing at a faster pace than the search, portals, PC software and email sectors.

Overall, the most popular social networking website is Facebook, with a reach of 30 per cent in the countries studied.

British consumers were discovered to be significantly more likely to access social networks from a mobile phone than their counterparts in other key nations, while 67 per cent of all internet users in the nine countries examined visit social networking and blogging sites in total.

"While two-thirds of the global online population already accesses member community sites, their vigorous adoption and the migration of time show no signs of slowing," chief executive of Nielsen Online John Burbank remarked.

Last year, a study by JupiterResearch found that the rapid growth of social networking and mobile phone use was starting to have a significant impact on the effectiveness of many email marketing campaigns.