Website sensation Twitter is losing more than half of new users each month



Those who Twitter are usually quitters according to a company that measures internet traffic.

The social networking site became a sensation overnight after it was praised by celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Fry.



Audience figures shot up to seven million unique visitors this February compared to 475,000 the same month a year ago.

Star support: Oprah Winfrey is seen twittering with Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter

But research company Nielsen Online revealed that 60 per cent of users stop using the free website just a month after joining it.



'There simply aren't enough new users to make up for defecting ones after a certain point,' Nielsen's David Martin said.

In contrast the more established Facebook and MySpace manage to keep 70 per cent of their fans.



Twitter was created three years ago and lets people post 140-character messages or 'tweets' that can be viewed by friends who have agreed to 'follow' them online.

They can be sent to the site using a computer or mobile.

Larry King interviews Ashton Kutcher about Twitter. Kutcher was the first person to get one million followers on the site

Users can also follow celebrity Twitterers such as Ashton Kutcher and Jonathan Ross, who regularly post their musings and photographs on the site.



The site has also played a part in several breaking news stories. Dramatic scenes from a US Airways emergency landing on the Hudson River were uploaded to Twitter by user Janis Krums who was aboard a ferry used to rescue the stranded passengers.



His caption read: 'There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.'

During the Mumbai terror attacks citizen journalists tweeted about events as they unfolded on the ground using their mobiles.

But unless more users continue with the service after they join, Twitters days could be numbered.



'Twitter has enjoyed a nice ride over the last few months,' Mr Martin said.



'But it will not be able to sustain its meteoric rise without establishing a higher level of user loyalty.'