Social networking top online activity in U.S.

US Internet users are spending nearly a quarter of their online time at blogs and social networks, with Facebook the most popular destination, according to a survey released by Nielsen.

"Social media's popularity continues to grow, connecting people with just about everything they watch and buy," Nielsen said in a quarterly state-of-social-media report.

Some 22.5 percent of time spent online in the United States was at social networks and blogs, compared with slightly less than 10 percent spent in the second most popular category -- online games, the study indicated.

The popularity of social networks and blogs continued to soar, with four out of five "active" US Internet users visiting such online venues, according to Nielsen.

People in the United States spent more time at Facebook than at any other website, the report concluded.

Nielsen estimated that 140 million people, approximately 70 percent of active US Internet users, visited Facebook in May -- spending a combined 53.5 billion minutes at the website.

An overall look at 10 major global markets showed that social networks and blogs reach about three-quarters of Internet users, according to Nielsen.

Among the 10 online markets tracked by Nielsen, Australian Internet users spent the most time at social networks and blogs.