Rage Against The Machine named Christmas #1 in the UK

American rockers Rage Against The Machine (RATM) have stolen the coveted number one spot from X-Factor winner Joe McElderry in what will go down as The Internet vs Simon Cowell. Not strictly a technology related story Ladies and Gentlemen but a good read nevertheless. Neowin has seen the official figures that are distributed under embargo to the press and radio stations in the UK and can confirm the result.

To obtain the Christmas number one spot in the UK, it all began when Jon Morter started a Facebook group, which has now grown to over 950,000 members. As with many Internet campaigns, the idea was power to the people and for individuals to exercise their own vote in favour of a different number one than the typical X-Factor finalist, which has dominated the Christmas number one spot for the last four years. Morter captured the imagination and hearts of thousands of people on The Internet who didn't want to see Simon Cowell's latest creation hit number one.

The Internet vs Simon Cowell took many twists and turns during the week with experts predicting that McElderry's single would overtake Rage Against The Machine on Wednesday when the physical CD copies were available. None of the predictions turned true and Internet users were able to purchase the RATM single for as low as 29p at Amazon UK. One savvy video editor created a hilarious parody video which added further humour to the campaign. To top the week off Rage Against The Machine appeared on BBC Radio 5 where presenters had to cut the record short as the band swore live on air, something they had "promised" not to do. The band have also guaranteed a "huge" free live gig in the UK to thank those who supported the efforts. According to official figures the band sold 502,672 copies vs 450,838 for Joe. RATM will also be donating some proceeds from the record sales to Shelter, a British charity that focusses on housing issues. Alongside the RATM for Christmas number one effort the Facebook group also helped raise over Â£66,000 for Shelter.

The crowning of RATM as Christmas number one in the UK proves that social media and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are once again powerful forces that businesses and consumers alike cannot ignore.