World Cup final sets Twitter record

The nail-biting end to Sunday's FIFA Women's World Cup final between the United States and Japan inspired an influx of tweets and a new Twitter world record, the social networking site announced.

STUNNER!

Japan stunned the US in the World Cup final. Relive the majesty of Germany 2011's decisive match.

Japan defeated the US 3-1 in a penalty shootout in the final played in Frankfurt, Germany — denying the US a third title.

A record 7,196 tweets per second were sent in the dying moments of the game, which finished at 2-2 in extra time, ahead of the penalties.

Twitter added that another soccer game — Paraguay's defeat of defending champion Brazil Sunday in the Copa America quarter-finals Sunday — is now second on the tweets per second leaderboard, with 7,166 messages per second sent at the end of the game.

Other recent Twitter peaks included the May death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, which reached a high of 5,106 tweets per second, according to tech website TechCrunch, and Super Bowl XLV in February, which saw 4,064 tweets per second.

Sunday's US-Japan clash also saw another Twitter incident — a war of words between CNN talk show host Piers Morgan and former England soccer star Michael Owen.

The spat, which started when Owen criticized Morgan's attempts to offer advice on penalty tactics, degenerated into name-calling — with the TV star calling the Manchester United player a "benchwarming midget," and being mocked for his saggy "moobs" in return.