Soccer fans around the world shattered Internet traffic records on Friday as they watched, read, blogged and tweeted about the World Cup. At its peak, Internet traffic reached nearly 12.1 million visitors per minute, breaking the previous record of 8.5 million visitors per minute set during the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Sites like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have exploded with World Cup coverage, and dedicated iPhone and Android apps allow users to easily keep track of the action.

When you're able to view a soccer game on your phone, it's easy to take technology for granted. But the sheer volume of users watching video online and participating in social networks is a reminder that the technology game has changed dramatically since the last pre-Twitter, pre-iPhone World Cup in 2006.

Want to watch Internet history in the making? Akamai has created a real-time map of traffic around the world.