YouTube says more than 1 billion people are now visiting its online video site each month to watch clips around the world. "Nearly one out of every two people on the Internet visits YouTube," the video website said in a blog post.

The milestone was announced Wednesday at an event in Santa Monica that was aimed at advertisers and featured performances from some of the website's biggest stars, such as the bands CDZA and Monsters Calling Home.

YouTube crossed the 1 billion threshold five months after Facebook said its online social network had reached that figure for the first time.

Google-woned Youtube has provided the internet search giant a lucrative channel for selling online ads.