Increased investment in online advertising will result in 18 percent growth for the U.K. market for ad serving technologies and services, which is forecast to reach 33 million pounds in 2006, according to E-consultancy's "Online Ad Serving Solutions Buyers Guide," published this week. U.K. sales generated by ad serving vendors totaled 28 million pounds in 2005, according to the report. The market comprises (and the guide features) suppliers that sell technologies and services to facilitate online display advertising (banners and rich media) - either for publishers or advertisers.

According to E-consultancy, key market trends in 2005 included the continued commoditization of core technology, reducing the cost of ad serving; suppliers' focus on high-value services that give publishers improved ROI; online advertising networks' increased investment in technology, improvements in which have enable marketers to have a more integrated and targeted approach to online marketing.

Suppliers/technologies featured in the buyers guide are 24/7 Real Media, Accipiter, ADTECH, Atlas, Bluestreak, CheckM8, DoubleClick, Falk, M3 Media Services, Mediaplex, phpAdsNew, RedEye, Tangozebra, TradeDoubler and ZEDO.