[beatrisio]

May 17, 2010
YouTube turns 5, hits 2 billion

SAN FRANCISCO - YOUTUBE on Sunday said that the number of videos watched daily at the website has broken the two-billion mark as the service begins celebrating its fifth birthday.

'Thanks to you, our site has crossed another milestone and now exceeds over two billion views a day,' YouTube team members said in a blog post.

'That's nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major US television networks combined.' The news came with the launch of a YouTube 5 Year channel devoted to the service's history and cultural influence.

The YouTube 5 Year channel features a 'My YouTube Story' project compiling tales by people from around the world describing how YouTube has changed or shaped their lives.

A documentary film maker has chronicled stories ranging from an Iranian protester using YouTube to get news to the world to a man sharing a video journal of his battle with cancer.

The channel has an interactive timeline of important moments in YouTube history. -- AFP