A new report from Strategy Analytics suggests that mobile advertising could account for up to 25 per cent of worldwide internet advertising spend by 2011.

In its "Global Mobile Advertising Update: Outlook Bright as Inventory Expands" report, the firm predicts that mobile internet advertising will grow to $14.4 billion in 2011 from $1.4 billion this year, as more companies transfer their budgets to this growing medium.

"The outlook for mobile advertising spend has significantly advanced in the past 12 months," said Phil Taylor of Global Wireless Practice.

"The supply of advertising inventory is rapidly increasing as mobile publishers look to develop advertising as a revenue stream."

Meanwhile, Vodafone has launched a new, cheaper internet portal in the UK that could mark the dawn of a new era in mobile advertising.

He added that operators such as Vodafone and Verizon Wireless were expanding their plans to sell mobile advertising, and that it would be search companies such as Google and Yahoo that would drive advertisers to the market.

The company's ten million customers who own a 3G or GPRS handset will be able to access internet services such as Gmail and Hotmail.

According to Telephia and comScore, around 5.7 million people accessed the internet via a mobile device during January 2007.

Source:  Direct Traffic Media