Close to 2.5 million unique users flocked to Independent News & Media's website in January, as coverage of the cold snap and the Iris Robinson affair drove traffic to record levels.

The latest audited figures from ABCe show the INM portal racked up 2.46 million unique users in the first month of the year, up 7pc on its October tally. Page views were also up, coming in at 34.4 million or 12pc above their October level.

"This was another consistent audit result for us, pushing us closer to our nearest rival RTE," said Ian Byrne, head of INM's Independent Digital division. RTE.ie had 2.93 million unique users when its last audit was carried out in October. The Irish Times news site had 2.3 million unique users at its most recent audit last November.

The growth in Independent Digital's figures comes after recent enhancements to the site, including a new weather channel, a new search engine and a new portal to help users share photos. "This fast evolving industry and our continuous improvement programme will see Independent.ie deliver more innovation during 2010," said Byrne.