US rock band OK Go won the award for most creative video

US rock band OK Go won in the "most creative" category for a video featuring the performers on treadmills.

Comedy series Ask a Ninja, a video promoting a Free Hugs Campaign and a performance by singer Terra Naomi were among the winners in seven categories.

YouTube said the winners had "changed the landscape of how a 'star' is defined". A YouTube awards trophy is due to be unveiled at a later date.

Other winners were Thewinekone for best commentary, and double act Smosh for best comedy with their video of a man apparently stranded on a desert island.

YouTube's award winners were chosen by the site's users

The animation Kiwi! was named most adorable video.

OK Go frontman Damian Kulash told the AFP news agency: "It's incredible how quickly and completely YouTube is changing culture. We can't wait to get our trophy."

Success on the site has previously been defined largely by rankings of the most-viewed or most-discussed videos.

The award-winning videos are now gathered in a special section on the site.

Jamie Byrne, YouTube's head of product marketing, earlier said: "We wanted to call out some of the most popular videos and let the users choose which ones deserve some additional recognition."