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A comScore Networks study analyzing the impact of visitation from university locations at the top two online properties, Fox Interactive Media (including MySpace.com) and Yahoo sites, found that college students pushed FIM sites into the top position.

If college usage is omitted, Yahoo sites, with 35.6 billion pageviews for November, would rank higher than FIM sites, with 34.9 billion. But Fox's MySpace.com, which accounts for more than 4.5 billion pages viewed from university locations, reversed that order.

Eight percent of all web content consumed by U.S. internet users, as measured in pageviews, comes from university settings. At FIM - the top property in November on the basis of pageviews - 12 percent of content is viewed at university locations; only 6 percent of pageviews at Yahoo sites are from university locations.

"Recent media coverage of the total pageviews for Fox Interactive Media and Yahoo sites underscores the critical role that university measurement plays in the accurate reporting of website visitation," said Dr. Magid Abraham, president and CEO of comScore Networks.

"Our data agree that Yahoo is still the leader if one looks at only the usage from home and work locations. However, the key reason for the apparent discrepancy [between comScore and other research] is Internet usage from university locations, which comScore uniquely measures."

The recent decline reported by comScore in Yahoo sites' pageviews underscores another emerging issue in web metrics. New technologies such as AJAX - which enable real-time site updates without needing to refresh a page - are affecting the relevance of pageviews. Yahoo in particular has begun implementing AJAX and other Web 2.0 technologies across its sites.

"While pageviews will not altogether cease to be a relevant measure of a site's value, it's clear that there is an increasing need to consider pageviews alongside newer, more relevant measures," according to Abraham.