by , 3:55 PM EST, January 22nd, 2008

Nielson Online reported dramatic gains on Tuesday for Apple's iTunes channel and the Apple Store in 2007. Total purchases at the Apple store rose from 207,000 in November 2006 to 394,000 purchases in November 2007. iTunes visits were up 28 percent in the fourth quarter, year over year.

The key findings in the Nieleson report were:

• In Q4 2007, Web traffic to the Apple parent company grew 18 percent year over year, from a three-month average monthly unique audience of 39.6 million to 46.8 million.
• Total minutes at the Apple parent company grew 14 percent year over year, from 8.8 billion in Q4 2006 to 10.0 billion in Q4 2007.
• Total purchases at The Apple Store grew 90 percent year over year, from 207,000 purchases in November 2006 to 394,000 purchases in November 2007. �
• iTunes, Apple Store and .Mac were the top three fastest growing Apple Web channels year over year in Q4 2007

The fastest growing Apple Web channels, Q4* year over year (U.S., Home and Work) were as follows. iTunes: up 28 percent, the Apple store: up 15 percent, and .Mac: up 3 percent.

* Quarterly Web traffic based on a three-month average monthly unique audience.