MUMBAI: Internet advertising revenues in the US have jumped by 40 per cent in the first half of this year. This has been attributed to the growing popularity of keyword ads tied to search results.

The data is contained in a report filed on Tuesday from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The report states that Internet advertising revenues for the first six months of 2004 was approximately $ 4.6 billion as compared to $ 3.3 billion for the corresponding period in 2003. This makes it a 39.7 per cent increase over the first half of 2003.

For the second quarter in 2004, the Internet advertising revenue billed a total of approximately $ 2.37 billion showing a 42.7 per cent increase over same period 2003. Hence second quarter revenues represent a six per cent increase over the first quarter of 2004, the report said.

The figures quoted include ads within E-mail newsletters, E-mail marketing campaigns and other commercial E-mail communications from legitimate businesses according to international agency reports.