Internet ad revenue climbs 26 percent

As of June, advertisers had spent $5.8 billion to place ads online this year, a 26 percent increase compared with the first six months of 2004, according to a new report.

This record spending was once again led by ads linked to Web search results, said the Interactive Advertising Bureau, or IAB, which released the report Monday in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Spending on search-related ads reached $2.3 billion, a 27 percent increase compared with the same period last year, the report said. read on..