Nielsen’s online division has launched a mobile internet audience measurement tool, which the company claims is a world first.

Nielsen says that the The Mobile Market Intelligence service will provide consistent and transparent metrics for mobile advertisers and publishers.

Results from the new service data from April 2010 showing average daily unique browsers accessing the internet via mobiles at 138,574, with average time spent online via mobiles sitting at around four and a half minutes.

News.com.au topped the first month’s mobile internet rankings with average daily unique browsers of 48,090, followed closely by smh.com.au, TheAge.com.au, and ninemsn.com.au.

“Our clients have been telling us that the lack of independent, credible information on mobile sites has been holding back the growth of mobile advertising spend, and Nielsen’s launch of Mobile Market Intelligence is in direct response to this feedback,” explained Matt Bruce, managing director of Nielsen’s online business in Australia.

Nielsen indicates the service will be provided automatically to all of its agency clients, while participating publishers will need to follow a process of tagging their site in order to be included in the service.

“For agencies and media buyers, Nielsen’s Mobile Market Intelligence service makes available independent and timely mobile audience and engagement metrics which will support media planning and buying decisions, as well as providing a means for benchmarking campaign performance,” said Kerry Field, partner of innovation, Mindshare and chair of the Media Federation of Australia (MFA).