Coldplay worlds biggest

Coldplay had the biggest selling album of 2005, according to official figures.

The band's third LP 'X&Y' sold 8.3 million copies around the world last year, beating off competition from Mariah Carey and 50 Cent.

The International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry (IFPI) have revealed that Carey's 'The Emancipation Of Mimi' shifted 7.7 million copies, while 50 Cent's 'The Massacre' sold 7.5 million.

The figures also show that digital music sales tripled last year, despite global music sales falling by 3%.

'Monkey Business' by Black Eyed Peas was fourth in the worldwide chart, followed by Green Day's 'American Idiot'.

Madonna's 'Confessions On A Dance Floor' came in sixth place, ahead of Kelly Clarkson's 'Breakaway' while 'Curtain Call' - Eminem's greatest hits collection - came in at Eight.

At Number Nine, James Blunt's 'Back To Bedlam' sold 5.5 million and Robbie Williams' 'Intensive Care' finished at 10 with 5.4 million units sold.

From $440 million (£230 million) last year, the value of digital music sales jumped to $1.1 billion (£633 million), the IFPI have said.

Record company revenue for CDs and music DVDs however dropped by 6.7%, despite accounting for most of the market.

"Physical music sales declined again for a combination of reasons, including digital and physical piracy, competition from other entertainment products and the shift in consumer spending to online and mobile," IFPI chairman John Kennedy said.

He added: "In 2006, we expect to see continued growth online and more innovative mobile services attracting music fans into the legal digital market. All our member record companies are now aggressively licensing and marketing music in digital formats."document.write(unescape("