For the first time in the history of the internet, more people are visiting search engines than adult-oriented websites.

In January, search engines accounted for 13.3 per cent of all UK internet visits, compared with 11.5 per cent for adult websites, according to internet monitoring company Hitwise.

According to Hitwise, this is a significant point in the development of the internet, as it shows that its commercial potential is starting to come to the fore.

"This marks an important point in the maturity of the internet, with mainstream consumer activities overtaking the early attractions of the internet," said Heather Hopkins, vice president of research for Hitwise UK.

Google is still by far the most popular search engine in the UK, according to Hitwise, with 78 per cent of search requests made through Google in January and February this year. Yahoo trailed in second place with just eight per cent. However, both companies reported an increase in the overall number of searches made.

"It indicates that search engines have become the point of entry for the web, used to navigate to specific websites and to search for products and information,” said Hopkins.

Hitwise also found that different search engines were used for different types of search. For example, the terms 'car insurance' and 'weather' were more commonly used on Ask.com than Google or Yahoo.

"Whilst the audience of the leading search engines overlap to some extent, each also has a slightly unique profile of user. For example, Ask.com tends to attract a larger share of younger families than average whilst Yahoo Search attracts a larger share of visits from Northern Ireland and Scotland," said Hopkins.

http://www.hitwise.co.uk/

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