Facebook is big on the mobile web

ACCORDING TO LATEST FIGURES from browser firm Opera, the majority of people using the mobile web do so to check and visit their Facebook profiles.

"Facebook is now the most-visited social network on the mobile Web," write the report authors. "Unique users of Facebook grew more than 600 per cent during 2009, helping the site surpass VKontakte, formerly the most popular social network among Opera Mini users. Twitter saw its usage increase more than any other social network, surging more than 2800 per cent in just one year."

VKontakte is a Russian social networking site, and in previous reports it has always been a big winner in terms of usage because of the sheer number of web users that speak the language. Usually nestling at the top of the list for most users, this report sees it sitting in second place behind your fake friend and ours, Facebook.

Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder of Opera Software, added, "During the four years Opera Mini has been available, things have changed. People are accustomed to downloading all manner of applications to their phones. People want the Web on their phones, not its distant cousin, WAP."

Reflecting this, Opera Mini has grown dramatically in use over the last four years, and now over 46.3 million people use it each month, according to the report, which explains that is as many as use the grown-up desktop version.

In the UK the three most popular sites for people that walk around bumping into lamposts are, predictably, Facebook, followed by Google and the BBC. Because this report covers the month of December, Amazon popped into the top ten, Opera said, presumably because people chose to do their online holiday shopping while being out and about.

Opera's full report is available here. µ