Guardian website nears 30m users

Fuelled by coverage of US President Barack Obama's inauguration and the ongoing economic woes, UK national newspaper websites all reported double digital growth during the month

Telegraph.co.uk held onto second place after its users shot up 23.1% month on month to 25.9m. Its UK users increased from 6.9m in December to 8.7m in January.

Times Online grabbed third place back from the MailOnline after its unique users increased by 19.8% during the month to hit a record 22.9m.

The site's UK users rose to 8.3m, a 22.9% increase on December.

MailOnline, which includes the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday sites, posted a 16.3% month-on-month increase in users to 22.88m. Its UK unique users rose to 7.28m, up from 6m in December.

The Sun, which includes the daily newspaper site, as well as NewsoftheWorld.co.uk and Page3.com, jumped 15.6% to 21.9m. Its UK user total also increased from 6.5m in December to 8.17m in January.

Independent.co.uk posted a 17% month-on-month increase to 10.24m unique users, while its UK users increased from 3.6m in December to 4.4m in January.

Mirror Group, spanning Mirror.co.uk, SundayMirror.co.uk and People.co.uk, increased its users by 25% month on month to 6.65m users. UK user totals increased from 3m in December to 3.69m in January, which equates to 56% of its total audience.