A new report has found that advertising spend on the internet has surpassed that of radio for the first time. The report, commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), claims that online advertising rocketed up 60 per cent in 2004 to £653.3 million, representing 3.9 per cent of total spend by advertisers. The IAB believes online ad revenue grew more than fourfold in the past four years.

Radio advertising, on the other hand, is 3.8 per cent of total advertising spend. While the press is still the predominant choice for advertisers, with 41.5 per cent of the market, followed by television at 23.9 per cent and direct mail with 14.6 per cent, the brisk growth of online ads was attributed to the massive increase in households with high-speed broadband access. As IAB's chief executive Guy Phillipson commented, 'There is a massive cultural shift going on, forcing a change in consumer and advertiser behaviour.'

Advertising companies will be cheered that total spend increased 5.8 per cent to £16.9 billion.