More than €1.8 million has been invested in online advertising in France during the first half of 2008, a 38 percent increase year-on-year, AFP reported Thursday.

Internet advertising in France constitutes 14.7 percent of the total advertising market, a 4 percent increase since the first half of 2007. It now ranks third, behind both print and TV ,but in front of radio.

Internet advertisers added up to 3,357 in the first half of 2008, a 32 percent escalation year-on-year. Between 2003 and 2007, the number increased by over four times, AFP reported.

The premier online advertiser is SNCF, the French public transport company. Next in line is eBay and SFR, the French phone company whose shares are owned by Vivendi and Vodafone.

Nearly half of online ads are on Internet portals and search engines.

Principle advertisers remain “highly represented,” but the Web also features new players who decided to focus their publicity campaigns online (namely for the product launches), said Jérôme de Labriffre, president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) French division.

Labriffre pointed out those Sectors such as automobile, retail, drinks and clothes remain “under-represented” and must “sharply progress in the future,” said Labriffre. He also predicted that the growth in online advertising would not slow down, even if the circumstances change for the worse, according to the AFP.