According to the most recent mobile market statistics released by the mobile analytics and tracking firm AdMob, which Google has now acquired, the market share of the Google Android OS has surpassed the share of the Apple iOS in the US; and is also catching up globally, thanks to the multitude of Android-based handsets appearing on the scene.

Generally speaking, the mobile metrics report by AdMob is a "monthly snapshot of the smartphone industry based on data generated by ad requests within its network of 23,000 mobile websites and mobile applications."

Going by the AdMob-released statistics for the month of May, despite the fact that the iOS is a dominant player in the operating systems arena, boasting around 40 percent international market share, the Android OS is rapidly closing - and has already touched up to 26 percent of the market share internationally.

In terms of overall traffic, the share of the Android handsets has increased 29 percent month-on-month for every month since May 2009.

Meanwhile, the third-ranking operating system is the Symbian OS, with nearly 24 percent market share; followed by the Blackberry OS - which is extremely popular in the US - in the fourth spot with 6 percent share.

The once-dominant Windows Mobile has fallen to a mere 2 percent, while the Palm WebOS and "others" make up the remaining numbers.