Figures from Experian-operated Hitwise revealed increased market share for Google, Yahoo! and Ask in November, while in social media MySpace dropped out of the top ten social networks and was replaced by Stumble Upon. Google Sites maintained their dominance of the search market in November with a slight increase of 0.05 per cent market share of total UK Internet searches.

Best Western to award its Facebook fans 10 million Best Western Rewards® points as part of its “Fastest Way to a Free Night” social media initiative.

Social media specialist Travelshake.com has developed a facebook application for tourism and travel businesses that lets business owners offer their facebook fans the ideal travel shopping experience on facebook.

Social networking giant Facebook has launched a new standalone Messenger service, which it hopes will make mobile-to-mobile texting obsolete. The service allows users to send messengers through notifications on the main Facebook page, so “friends are more likely to get them right away”.

The evolution of the social internet is driving “fundamental change in how people search, shop for and purchase travel”. That is the key finding of a study carried out by industry analysts PhoCusWright, which releases its latest report - Social Media in Travel 2011: Traffic, Activity and Sentiment - today.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has officially launched its Facebook fan page with a major competition promoting new services to Malé, capital of the Maldives.