It may be child’s play but it has made Harry and Charlie Davies-Carr two of the most recognisable Britons in the world — and earned their parents tens of thousands of pounds.

A video of Harry, three, having his finger bitten by Charlie, one, as they sit in a chair racked up its 130 millionth hit last week to become the most watched item in the history of YouTube, the video-sharing website.

The brothers now have their own blog, video series, T-shirt concession and even a limited edition calendar.

Their success shows the increasing power and earning potential of internet stardom. While a video aired on Harry Hill’s You’ve Been Framed programme on ITV earns £250 for the person sending it in, web experts believe the Davies-Carrs could be on their way to a £100,000 windfall, largely from adverts placed on screen around the video.

The 55-second clip, entitled Charlie Bit My Finger, was intended for just one person: the boys’ godfather, who lives in the United States.

Their father, Howard Davies-Carr, 40, a former IT consultant, switched on his camera as the boys sat together two years ago. Harry says “ouch” several times and protests that his brother is hurting him. Charlie laughs and then Harry grins and says: “Charlie bit me”.

Last week, the video overtook Evolution of Dance, in which an American comedian dances to a range of songs, to become the most watched internet video.

Mr Davies-Carr said last week at the family home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire; “The clip only went up as I wanted to share it with the boys’ godfather. I was naive about the whole YouTube thing. It became viral and once that happened there was nothing I could do. People have sent lovely comments and messages and I now upload a new video of the boys every six weeks.”

His wife Shelley, 33, who has since had a third son, Jasper, now 18 months, said: “Susan Boyle has never had the hits we have had. The video got on to a college networking site in the US and from there it went viral. I think the British accents have helped make it so globally viewed.”

Not everyone finds the boys cute. Whereas most of the 247,000 comments on YouTube are favourable, a minority say it is too cute for words.

A spokesman for YouTube, which accounts for 58 per cent of all online videos, said: "It has inspired loads of remixes and spoofs. Many of the most popular users can earn thousands of pounds a month."