YouTube's Top 10 Videos Of 2012 Revealed

South Korean rap sensation Psy's Gangnam Style was unsurprisingly the most watched video on YouTube in 2012, with at least 983 million views worldwide.

The track reached number one in the music charts in many countries including the UK, and the dance video inspired several parodies including by British troops in Afghanistan, the Chinese military and schoolboys at Eton .

Psy even gave dancing lessons to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

YouTube has released its top 10 most popular videos and the list includes Justin Bieber lip syncing, a dubstep violin and Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking jump from the edge of space, 24 miles up.

Psy's massive number of views is well ahead of last year's winner, Rebecca Black's Friday, which had less than 200 million views at the same time last year.

YouTube said : "This year, Korean Pop music transcended boundaries and took the world by storm.

"Cover songs, parodies, and 'do-it-yourself' music videos from all genres entertained us in countries near and far.

"2012 has been a big year for YouTube. You’ve been watching over 4 billion hours of video a month."

In second place was Canadian band Walk off the Earth's "unconventional" cover of Gotye's single Somebody That I Used To Know, with at least 141 million views.

In third with 95 million was Kony 2012 - a film to promote awareness of alleged Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony in order to have him arrested.

At least 55 million people saw the fourth placed video - Bieber and Selena Gomez singing along to Carly Rae Jepsen's song Call Me Maybe, and fifth was Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney, Epic Rap Battles Of History.

It features well-known Obama impersonator Alphacat and was seen by at least 46 million people globally.

Also in the top 10 were a video about what happened when a mysterious sign was put in the middle of a square in Belgium, one by comedian Emmanuel Hudson and another about a father's reaction to his daughter's Facebook post.

Top 10 videos:

1. PSY - GANGNAM STYLE

2. Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover)

3. KONY 2012

4. “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen - Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena, Ashley Tisdale & MORE!

5. Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 2.

6. A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE

7. WHY YOU ASKING ALL THEM QUESTIONS? .. #FCHW

8. Dubstep Violin- Lindsey Stirling- Crystallize

9. Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen.

10. Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall from 128k’ - Mission Highlights