The research findings confirm that the market for online content is being driven by businesses and consumers that are increasingly willing to pay for reliable sources of timely, accurate and complete information. It is also believed that as the market matures, buying patterns, purchasing behavior and the means of delivery, will continue to evolve.

Another research finding by Jupiter, a division of Jupitermedia Corp, reveals that online advertising supplemented by classified ads and increased spending by the traditional advertisers,will make a quantum leap from $ 5.6 billion this year to $ 6.2 billion in 2003.

An excellent example of this is the popular online search engine Google, which apart from delivering information has helped clients sell obscure products like bird diapers and leashes to name just a few. The study further states that some industries are better positioned to take advantage of the Internet, especially in the case of those products where the customer needs to do some research before making a purchase.

"The Internet will transform advertising because of its tracking ability, not its beauty," Google Inc chief executive Eric Scmidt is quoted as saying in a report on net ads by The Wall Street Journal Online.

Google, which began running text advertisements earlier this year, doesn't run banner ads or multimedia spots anymore. Commenting on Google's strategy, the report gives an example of a user, say one looking for information on baseball gets links to Major League Baseball and the Hall of Fame, as well as a text ad hawking Barry Bonds baseball cards, thus enabling the website to translate to advertisers.

The research further reveals that the percentage of US households with online access is expected to grow to about 78 per cent by 2007 from the current 67 per cent, thus putting it at par with the number of homes with cable or satellite TV. This clearly indicates the tremendous scope for an ever increasing demand for online advertising.