According to a Sunday announcement by Google, the viewership of its May 2005-launched video sharing site YouTube currently exceeds more than two billion viewers daily, which is apparently two times more than the combined prime-time audience of all three leading US television networks - ABC, CBS and NBC.

What is even more noteworthy about YouTube viewership is that the site boasts viewers from all round the world, while the viewership of the television networks is restricted to the US alone. In fact, the enviable YouTube viewership figures explicitly hint that eventually the Internet may become the leading video-delivery system in the world.

The popularity of YouTube, which is currently blocked in China, has resulted largely from the wide-ranging video content – both informative and entertaining - that it has been hosting over the years.

Meanwhile, some other YouTube-related statistics highlighted by Google included – the uploading of more than 24 hours of video footage to YouTube every minute; 15 minutes per day being spent on the site by an average; and the site’s live sports broadcast to over 200 countries.

To mark its fifth birthday celebrations, YouTube has launched the YouTube FiveYear Channel, which includes the “My YouTube Story” project in which YouTube users have been asked to upload videos depicting the manner in which their lives have been impacted by the site.