The Internet will outpace television as the biggest advertising medium in the United Kingdom by the end of 2009, according to a report published by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Advertising Research Centre.

Britain has the most developed online ad market in the world, which was worth £2.8 billion ($5.6 billion) in 2007, Reuters reported.

Last year, 38 percent of online ad growth was driven by the boosting online population, the introduction of cheap laptops, and the growing popularity of catch-up TV online through services such as Channel 4's 4oD.

"With broadband speeds on the up and consumers spending more time on more sites, the outlook for online advertising is rosy - in fact we expect it to overtake TV in 2009 when it will become the UK's biggest medium," said IAB chief executive Guy Phillipson in a statement, according to Reuters.

The Internet was the biggest catalyst of overall ad growth in the country last year, with 4.3 percent growth to £18.4 billion, according to the report.

Online ad spend made up 15.3 percent of the total, up from 11.4 percent in 2006. However, it was behind display press advertising at 19.9 percent and TV at 21.8 percent, Reuters reported.

Display online advertising, such as banners and video, grew 31 percent, while paid-for search marketing was "maturing, but not slowing," the article stated.

Ad spend on search increased 39 percent, in line with overall growth, to £1.6 billion, still owning the biggest share at almost 58 percent. Classified ads marked 54 percent year-on-year growth.

Among the different sectors, recruitment took the lead with a 25.7 percent share, followed by the automotive sector and technology, which overtook finance for the first time, Reuters reported.