The online sales tallies coming in look better and better, even while sales remain flat at actual stores. The latest indication that e-Christmas sales will come in above forecast comes courtesy of robust Cyber Monday sales figures.

And they look pretty impressive, particularly with so many doubts lingering over the overall Christmas 2010 sales outlook. Maybe the trick is major retailers’ heavy reliance on social media marketing, which we weren’t all that impressed with in the run-up to the last Friday.

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?

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.

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.

Facebook is the first to say its new communications platform, Facebook Messages, is not email, nor is it some kind of “email killer.” Maybe not. Still, the web’s biggest email providers, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL, should be quaking today.

In today’s “you win some/lose some” category we have, yep, Facebook. We reported earlier about Facebook’s troubles in Japan as it is Twitter who is challenging the local incumbent there for top spot among social networks. But fear not. In the all important metric of “making money,” Facebook is doing just fine, padding its lead as America’s largest online display ad publisher.

In Japan, Twitter is on the verge of knocking off the incumbent Mixi as the country’s top social networking platform. Meanwhile, Facebook’s popularity there is stagnant at best.