A Dannon advergame

Over the next five years, videogame advertising will grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 23 percent, reaching some$2 billion by 2011 worldwide, according to eMarketer. Advertising in games accounted for $692 million in 2006.

The U.S. market alone for in-game advertising is predicted to reach $969 million in the same time period, jumping from $346 million in 2006.

Of that total, a significant percentage comes from advergames. U.S. advergame spending is estimated to have reached $164 million in 2006 and is expected to grow to $344 million by 2011.

Other factors driving growth include broadening of the gaming demographic to include older gamers and women, and more games that favor online advertising, such as casual games, online games, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) and console games that are online.