When it comes to mobile, the perception is that the U.S. is always behind Europe, but a new report being released today says that when it pertains to the adoption of 3G, the U.S. is now on top, according to comScore (NSDQ: SCOR), which recently bought Seattle-based M:Metrics. In the U.S., 28.4 percent of subscribers now have a 3G device vs. the five largest countries in Europe, which have a combined penetration rate of 28.3 percent. In the past year, the number of U.S. subscribers with 3G devices has grown 80 percent to 64.2 million users. The only countries in Europe to exceed the U.S. in 3G penetration are Italy and Spain. Mark Donovan, comScore svp and senior analyst said: “For years, the American mobile industry has aspired to the level of sophistication of the European market…The advancements in 3G network technology and the introduction of sleek devices into the U.S. market have paid off as adoption of mobile media continues to grow at a rapid pace.”

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—3G European penetration rates: Within Europe, Italy has the highest 3G penetration at 38.3 percent; Spain comes in second place with 37.2 percent. The U.K. has a penetration rate of 19.9 percent, and Germany has 23.9 percent and France has 12.6 percent.

—Total Users: The U.S. also eclipses the five European countries when it comes to number of users with a 3G device. The U.S. has 64.2 million vs. Europe, which has 63.4 million. As far as individual countries, Italy has 18 million; the U.K has 13.1 million; Spain has 12.6 million; Germany has 11.7 million; and France has 8 million.

—Growth curve: To be sure, the growth is dramatic in all countries, but most shockingly in the U.S. The total study looked at the number of subscribers on average over three months ended in June 2008. Total subscribers in the U.S. jumped 80.1 percent compared to the same period in 2007. In Europe, the numbers jumped 46.6 percent; in Spain, 75.4 percent; in Germany, 67.1 percent; in the U.K., 46.1 percent; in France, 41.7 percent; in Italy 24.5 percent.