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The study comes after the online research firm found that more than 824 million people used the Internet in March 2008.

The United States only ranked second to China in representing the largest Internet audience of the world. With more than 163 million people online, the United States represents 17.8 percent of the total global Internet audience, after making up for 21 percent in March.

The number of Internet users in the Asia Pacific region continues to grow rapidly, as it still represents 41 percent of the global Internet audience.

“The second billion will be online before we know it, and the third billion will arrive even faster than that,” said Magid Abraham, comScore president and CEO, in a statement.

While reaching 77 percent of Internet users, Google remains the top-ranking Internet property – though now with 222 million users, the popularity of Facebook.com has grown by 127 percent. As the eighth most popular online property, Amazon.com has also become the highest-ranking online retailer, according to the study.

A: No longer focused on just individual users, social networking Web sites have been creating new tools that go beyond what basic feedback additions – a customer service e-mail, a product review feature, a blog – have done to humanize the online business transaction.

“Now it’s really about trying to connect emotionally, even in a business-to-business level,” said Brian Easter, CEO of web design and marketing company NeboWeb.

Since its launch in August 2006, Twitter has had web experts questioning whether a business would have any use for a site with a prompt that reads, “What are you doing?” Their conclusion nowadays: yes, but only if a business can prove that someone is actually listening.

In August, FaceReviews deemed Starbucks as one of 34 “Brands That Suck on Twitter,” though it was a title it had to retract three hours later. The reason why – a post that read, “We have our own ideas about what we’re going to do here. We’d love to hear from you, do you (or anyone else) have requests?”

“Instead of answering the question, ‘What are you doing?’, answer the question, ‘What has your attention?” said Chris Brogan, social media and networking advisor. Indeed, while Twitter can open up a business to more criticism, it also provides more opportunities to respond back.

In addition, the latest social networking developments from Google and Facebook also focus even more on the relationship between the business and the customer. On Thursday – and within hours of each other – they both announced the launches of their latest interactive features for business Web sites, which customers can access with log-ins they already have.

But as they provide the same convenience, each of these platforms opens marketplaces in different ways. Open also to Yahoo, AIM, and OpenID users, Google’s Friend Connect offers gadgets – including discussion and product review walls – that can be easily posted on a business Web site. Meanwhile, Facebook Connect allows individual users to carry both profile information and social networks as they navigate sites like Digg and StumbleUpon, so they can later post their activity on their News Feeds.

“That is really going to speed up Web 2.0 integration in more traditional sites,” Easter said, later adding that with usage of these platforms, the business Web site “becomes an instant community, so to speak.”

In sum, social networking Web sites provide what should primarily be used as other means of customer service. If used solely for additional promotion, a business is bound to seem fake – when in fact, they work best for the business with nothing to hide.

We have a saying around here that goes a little something like this: Google is God.

And in terms of internet, I don’t think we’re too far off. Google is the most powerful entity on the internet right now and as it continues to expand and develop, it’s leaving its competitors further and further behind. Microsoft came to Yahoo a year ago suggesting a partnership to combine their resources so that together, they might give Google a run for its money. A year ago, Yahoo declined. Upon noticing no improvement in the field of competition as well as in Yahoo’s overall business success, Microsoft offered again last week.

But today Yahoo rejected their offer to buy the company for nearly 45 billion dollars. A statement released by the company claims that Microsoft has undervalued Yahoo. Now as shocking as it sounds to say that 45 BILLION dollars is undervaluing something, what further confounds me is why Yahoo isn’t so keen on forming a partnership/merging with Microsoft.

Perhaps someone more business savvy than I understands the intricacies of what’s going on here, but from a daily internet user’s perspective, and one who deals directly with the "internet gods," I think Google could use a little more stiff competition. Not to say that the products and services they offer aren’t adequate enough, but if Google were able to pull so far ahead of their competition, who’s to say their standard of customer service not to mention the cost of doing business with them wouldn’t get out of hand?

What do you think? Should Microsoft and Yahoo team up to take on Google? How do you think it would affect businesses who advertise and compete with these search engines? Would there be any consequences to such a partnership/merger?

Here’s a list of 10 of the best business freebies,
many from well-known companies like Microsoft and Office Depot:

Business advice
The Service Corps of Retired Executives provides free business advice on its Web site. The mentors consist of over 10,000 successful entrepreneurs and executives. You can arrange to meet with them in person, via email or through online discussion forums. Website: http://www.score.org

Accounting software
It’s no secret that small-business owners often have trouble managing the company’s finances. Microsoft offers a complete accounting solution for businesses with Accounting Express 2008. You can track expenses, invoices, employee’s salaries, etc.
Website: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/accountingexpress/FX101729681033.aspx

Shipping materials
Simply by asking, the United States Postal Service will send you free shipping materials. Different-sized boxes, forms and stickers are all available to help you send out shipments and prepare mailings.
Website: http://www.usps.com

Website and email

Yes, believe it or not, you can have a business website with email addresses up and running today – at no cost to you. With Live Basics, Microsoft makes getting your site live – fast and easy. You get a domain name, hosting, 500MB of website storage space, 25 company-branded e-mail accounts, web site design tools and website reports. Not bad!
Website: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/FX101534261033.aspx

Shopping cart

AgoraCart offers websites a free e-commerce shopping cart solution. You can choose from a simple design to a more complex one with a ton of features. AgoraCart truly makes adding a store to your site simple!
Website: http://www.agoracart.com/

Backlink checker

In order to improve your website’s ranking with various search engines, you should first know how many backlinks search engines like Google and Yahoo! have found on your URL. Simply enter your URL on the Site Reference website and you’ll have a detailed report in just a few seconds.
Website: http://www.site-reference.com/webmasterTools/backlinkCheck.php

Business cards

For a while now, VistaPrint has been offering 250 free business cards for free. True, you have to pay $5.45 for the shipping, but that is still dirt cheap. The best part is that overall consumers seem to be very impressed with the cards they receive. A great way to give your business that professional touch, without a lot of money spent.
Website: http://www.vistaprint.com

Business Courses

The Small Business Administration offers links to more than 40 free business courses. With subjects ranging from marketing, finance, advertising, management, etc., you’re sure to find something that will help to improve your company. Many of the courses were designed in cooperation with colleges and universities and offer up-to-date business knowledge. Each course is short, only taking about thirty minutes to complete.
Website: http://www.sba.gov/services/training/onlinecourses/index.html

Content

If you want to bulk your website up with content but don’t have the time or expertise to write the articles and don’t want to pay a writer, then ArticleGeek is for you. With thousands of copyright-free articles on a wide variety of topics, you’re sure to find plenty to keep your website full of informative articles. The articles are constantly updated, so you’ll always have access to plenty of fresh and up-to-date information.
Website: http://www.articlegeek.com

Business forms

Office Depot has a web page filled with hundreds of downloadable business forms: contracts, invoices, purchase orders, non-disclosure agreements, tax forms etc. If you need any type of business form or correspondence, this is the place to look.

Website: http://www.officedepot.com/renderStaticPage.do?context=/content&file=/BusinessTools/forms/default.jsp

If you’re looking for even more business freebies, check out www.searchfreeapps.com – there’s every type of business freebie imaginable on there, many of which have been tested by the site owners.