It’s never too early to roll out Christmas retail figures, and comScore is not disappointing with its first update of the season arriving three days before Black Friday. The latest comScore audit shows an impressive 13% year-on-year increase in online sales for the first three weeks of November… You mean you haven’t started your shopping yet?

Don’t mess with It Girls. We’re talking of course about the massively popular Facebook game that now counts close to 5.5 million style-savvy gamers. The aim of It Girl is to build a confidence-boosting virtual wardrobe that leads inevitably to a state of unquestioned “Hotness.” This holiday season, via a novel real-meets-virtual alliance, It Girl gamers can add Old Navy duds to their wardrobe.

Fifa is set to announce the host country of the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament on December 2. The finalists have done everything to stand apart from the pack, submitting their detailed plans on local transport, security and the venues. They’re also trying a new tactic this time round: recruiting online supporters on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to show the stodgy Fifa chiefs they are the most worthy choice.

A new Internet usage survey by OgilvyOne shows social networking in China has become a cultural force, particularly among young professionals. The number that stands out to us is this: 83% of survey respondents said that they had used a social network the prior day and that 87% have friended a brand, the kind of figures you might not even find in the most advanced Western social networking markets.

Fortune 500 companies are showing off their social acumen with more regularity, in particular, increasing their blogging and Twitter activity in 2009, a new study out this week says. But there are no gold stars for this sector. The Fortune 500 still lags behind the younger, faster growing Inc. 500 in terms of social media uptake.

‘Tis the season for launching new mobile retail applications. Here is the second installment of our shopping apps review, a look at some of the latest entries that are trying to change the way you tackle your holiday splurge.

The Internet Advertising Bureau released its latest audit of the U.S. online ad market and – surprise, surprise – it’s more record growth for the sector.

Do you recall back in 2006 when eco activists hijacked General Motors’ big Chevy Tahoe online marketing blitz, using the campaign to post their grievances with the automaker’s environmental track record prominently on its own web site? We didn’t know it then, but this savvy counter-attack kick-started the social media activist movement. It’s also motivated companies to better communicate their CSR accomplishments with the public. How are they doing? We tell you here.

Overwhelmed with the vast numbers of people tweeting about sustainability and CSR? We’re here to help. We’ve compiled the Green Twitterati – a list of 100 smart and informed sustainability Tweeters. It is all part of of our special report, co-produced with Custom Communication: the Social Media Sustainability Index.

General Electric, IBM, Starbucks, Ford and Dell lead the way in social media communications when it comes to talking about sustainability and CSR. That is the conclusion of a new in-depth SMI special report, the first-ever ranking of how the world’s largest companies communicate their CSR initiatives via social media. Called the Social Media Sustainability Index, it is researched and written by social media sustainability specialists Custom Communication.