Despite Microsoft’s (MSFT) claims that sales of Windows 8 were outpacing its predecessor, global web traffic results paint a much different picture. According to data compiled by StatCounter, the total Internet usage of computers running Windows 8 over a four-week period ending on November 26th equaled a mere 1.31%, compared to the 4.93% Windows 7 achieved one month after its launch in 2009. Usage of Windows 7 on November 26th totaled 49.48% of the market in the United States, while Windows XP and Mac OS X made up 16.07% and 15.48%, respectively.

“Microsoft has reported license sales of 40 million for Windows 8, however this has not yet translated into significant usage figures,” said Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter. “This may be due to sales to manufacturers rather than to end users so Windows 8 may well get a boost over the December holiday buying season.”

StatCounter compiles its data from more than 15 billion page views per month across more than 3 billion Web sites on its network.

“Both Windows 7 and Windows 8 underwent significant periods of beta testing before their official launch dates,” the firm said. “In absolute terms, Windows 8 is behind Windows 7 one month post launch as outlined above. In relative terms, however, Windows 8 has more than tripled its usage share in the first month after launch, while Windows 7 only doubled its usage in the corresponding period.”

The launch of Windows 8 may have also been affected by Hurricane Sandy, which left thousands of people without power or Internet.