The respected internet metrics company said that in December 2011 MailOnline recorded 45.348 million unique visitors against 44.787 million for the NewYorkTimes.com.
From a standing start five years ago, MailOnline has been a runaway success.
It has been called a cultural phenomenon that has captured the zeitgeist of the age, at the same time re-inventing popular journalism for the digital era.
It has become renowned for its unique mix of breaking news, fascinating feature projects and unbeatable showbusiness pictures.
Meanwhile, its growth shows no signs of slowing down, as it spreads around the globe.
Offices in New York and Los Angeles have already helped propel it to becoming the fifth biggest newspaper website in the US, according to Comscore.
Publisher Martin Clarke said: “MailOnline showcases all that is best about British popular journalism.
“It is produced using traditional journalistic values and skills that are as old as Fleet Street itself and illustrates not just how its legacy can survive but how it can prosper as a world-beater in the digital age.”
