NZ Earthquake Creates Seismic Activity Online

Hitwise Press Release

NZ earthquake creates seismic activity online.

Auckland, 26th August 2003: According to latest statistics by leading online competitive intelligence service Hitwise, New Zealand Internet users have rushed online to find out more about the earthquake which jolted Te Anau and Queenstown.

The earthquake, which measured 7.1 on the Richter Scale only caused minor damage as its epicentre was offshore. With after shocks occurring up to a magnitude of 6.2212 only two hours after the original quake, many New Zealanders used the Internet to educate themselves more about what had just occurred as well as what could happen.

Hitwise charting demonstrates that visits to the GeoNet ( http://www.geonet.org.nz) website gained increased substantially. GeoNet provides real-time monitoring of geological hazards, and data collection for rapid response and research into hazards such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and landslides. Traffic to the GeoNet website began increasing since August 13th where it ranked 515th most popular website. Within 9 days, the website rose by an astonishing 495 places to become the 20th most visited New Zealand website.

Another website which has also attracted an increased amount of traffic over the past days is Geological Society of New Zealand - http://www.gsnz.org.nz. The website which jumped from 5,466th position on the 18th August and peaking at 803rd position on the 22nd August provides information on New Zealand Geology and the affairs of the Geological Society of New Zealand.

About Hitwise

Hitwise is the leading provider of online competitive intelligence services to Fortune 1000 corporations, providing corporate marketers with real-time insights into their online competitive environment. Via a combination of ISP data partnerships and opt-in mega panels, Hitwise collects anonymous information about the usage habits of more than 25 million Internet users worldwide, covering home, work and educational usage. With a categorized database of over 300,000 of the world's most popularly visited websites, Hitwise is able to offer a daily analysis of over 150 vertical markets in each country of operation.

Hitwise is a privately held company and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and operates in New Zealand, UK, US, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore.

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