Internet ad spending in the U.K. increased to $861 million in the first half of the year, up 62 percent from the first half of 2004, and is now worth more than outdoor advertising, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, reports Bloomberg (via MediaBuyerPlanner).

Online advertising accounted for 5.8 percent of the U.K. advertising market in the first six months of 2005, more than outdoor's 5.1, and well ahead of radio's 3.6.

For the full year, online advertising is likely to exceed 1 billion pounds for the first time.

In the first quarter of 2005, about 44 percent of U.K. ad spending was in magazines and newspapers and 25 percent on television. Internet advertising was about a fifth the size of TV.

Overall, advertising increased 5.3 percent to 3.9 billion pounds.