Spending on online advertising in the UK looks set to top £1bn in the UK for the first time, fuelled by increased use of broadband.

In the first six months of the year internet advertising expenditure hit £490.8m - up 62 per cent compared to the same time last year - while for the year to June ad spend was £865m.

The growth in online ad spending has even exceeded the targets set by the IAB, leapfrogging spending on outdoor ads.

Guy Phillipson, chief exec of the IAB, said: "These results have surpassed our expectations. At the end of 2004 the IAB predicted online would overtake outdoor by mid-2006 and we've beaten this target. Now the internet looks certain to be a £1bn medium in 2005."

Analysts reckon broadband is being "a leading contributing factor of the record breaking figures" because it has fuelled internet consumption and in turn attracted a greater share of advertisers' spend". ®

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