Online ad revenues in the US jumped 30 per cent in 2005 as spending on online advertising continued to grow at a "healthy rate".

The latest figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed that overall internet advertising revenues for the US hit a record $12.5bn during last year.

In the last three months of 2005 US internet advertising revenues hit $3.6bn - up 34 per cent on the same period in 2004.

What's more, the experts reckon that online spending is set to increase still further as advertisers twig that it's a fab way to plug their brands and boost sales. Plus with the emergence of new services such as video-over-broadband and internet TV there's plenty of whizzy new things to excite even the most reluctant of creative boutiques.

"The Internet continues to be a vibrant and ever-changing channel, providing advertisers with broad offerings that enable them to promote their brands using a highly cost effective platform," says David Silverman of PwC. "This year's record figure of annual internet advertising revenue demonstrates the enduring enthusiasm for the medium as a whole."

In March the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC) on behalf of the Advertising Association (AA) revealed that online ad spending soared in the UK last year.

The trade group said spending on online advertising in the UK rose 73 per cent during 2005, taking ad revenues to £1.13bn - way past other media such as consumer and business mags, radio, outdoor and cinema. ®

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