comScore, Inc. released the results of a study examining online visitation to U.K., French and German financial news and research sites in September during the height of the global financial crisis, based on data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service.

"Because of the immediacy in reporting real-time fluctuations in the financial markets, Europeans have become increasingly reliant on financial news Web sites for the most up-to-the minute information," said Herve Le Jouan, Managing Director, comScore Europe. "With European and world markets exhibiting such volatility, the Internet has proven itself to be the go-to resource for those with a vested interest in the markets, as well as concerned consumers generally."

Fastest Growing U.K. Financial News & Research Sites

The financial news and research category grew 10 percent to 8.8 million visitors in September 2008 from the previous month. The fastest gaining site, Guardian Business, enjoyed a 141-percent increase to 374,000 visitors, followed by Sky Money (up 122 percent), CNN Money (up 103 percent) and Bloomberg.com (up 60 percent). BBC News – Business, the largest site in the category, grew 51 percent to 2.5 million visitors, a net increase of 800,000 visitors versus the previous month.

Fastest Growing French Financial News & Research Sites

In France, the financial news and research category grew 9 percent to 6.4 million visitors in September 2008 versus August and is up 7 percent versus year ago. The fastest gaining site was Boursier.com, which enjoyed a 107-percent increase over the August level to 526,000 unique visitors, followed by Lexpansion.com (up 97 percent), Capital Magazin (up 96 percent) and Lemoneymag.fr (up 90 percent).

Fastest Growing German Financial News & Research Sites

In Germany, the financial news and research category grew at the slightly slower rate of 3 percent to 4.9 million visitors in September 2008. The fastest gaining site was Manager-Magazin.de, which saw its audience increase 39 percent to 471,000 visitors, followed by AOL Money & Finance (up 35 percent), Finanztreff.de (up 34 percent) and T-Online.de Finance (up 29 percent).