A different breed of celebrity seems to be taking over Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with a British study revealing that one in 10 pets is on the popular social networking websites.

The study has found that more than half of pet owners post about their animals on social networking sites and one in 10 of all pets in the UK have their own Facebook page, Twitter profile or YouTube channel, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

More than half of UK pet owners are sharing photos of their pets online, according to the study which also found that the rise of pets online has also seen a number of owners joining dedicated sites, with names such as Critter, Catster and Doggie Dating.

The New York-based owner of a cat called Romeo has amassed nearly 10,000 followers. Maru, another feline, has been filmed embarrassing himself in nearly 200 videos, and has attracted almost 140,000 subscribers who have signed up to be notified of his next adventure.

Other animals with major followings online include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's pet dog Beast, as well as those who have become famous without the help of such celebrity endorsement, the study found.

Boo, a dog on Facebook liked by nearly 1.4 million people, is officially categorised as a "Public figure". And, Sockington the cat, who has 1.5 million Twitter followers, has tweeted nearly 8,000 times, it revealed.

Neil Brettell, director of insurer PetPlan, who commissioned the study, said it suggested that "animals are more popular than celebrities on Facebook and other social networking sites."