Consumers are turning to a range of sources for consumer electronics information, with Microsoft leading as the most visited computer and consumer electronics brand online in September 2011. Microsoft’s websites saw nearly 94 million unique U.S. visitors, according to Nielsen’s State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report. Among top brands in the category, consumers spent the most time on Apple’s websites, where 68.7 million visitors averaged one hour and two minutes per person, compared to 42 minutes on Microsoft’s sites. Adobe, Mozilla, and CNET rounded out the top five brands, with 24 to 28 million visitors going to their sites and spending 2 to 6 minutes each on average. CNET was the only news website among the top 5 in this category overall.

Amazon emerged as the clear category leader among mass merchandiser brands. Seventy-two million visitors, about one in three active web users, browsed the online shopping site in September 2011 for an average of 29 minutes per person. Walmart’s followed as the second-ranked site, where 34.5 million visitors spent an average of 13 minutes per person on the site. Target, Shopathome.com, and Overstock.com rounded out the top five most visited mass merchandiser websites.

Women made up the majority of visitors to both categories of websites. More than three out of four women who were active online visited consumer electronics sites during September 2011, compared to seven out of 10 men. Women were also 7 percent more likely to visit mass merchandiser sites. Young people aged 18-34 were slightly more likely than the general population (4 percent more likely) to visit consumer electronics sites.

For additional insights on consumer electronics and media usage, download Nielsen’s State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report.