Almost ten million people watched U2 perform a live gig on YouTube last weekend, it has emerged.

The concert, at Pasadena Rose Bowl in California, was the single-largest streaming event in the video-sharing website's history.

Chris Maxcy, YouTube's head of music partnerships, told Variety: "This was a big win for the YouTube community.”

The playback of the gig, which was the second to last date on the Irish band's US tour, has since attracted more than a million views.

U2's manager Paul McGuiness said last week that the group had wanted to stage the online concert “for a long time".

"Fans often travel long distances to come to see U2 - this time U2 can go to them, globally,” he added.

U2 are due to resume their 360 degree world tour in 2010.

(by Jason Gregory)