MUMBAI: Media buying agency ZenithOptimedia has raised its forecast for global ad spending.

Spurred by the booming emerging markets Brazil, Russia, India and China -- the Bric economies -- as well as accelerating pickup of online advertising, the world's ad economy will rise 5.2 per cent this year, the agency has predicted.

According to ZenithOptimedia's quarterly ad spend forecast, it expects global ad spend to touch to $406.3 billion, upfrom its mid-year forecast of 4.7 percent.

A whopping 27 per cent of world ad growth this year is expected to come in from Brazil, Russia, India and China. This stands out even more if we consider the fact that the Bric economies account for just 16 per cent of the global GDP growth, as per the figures released by the agency.

As for the internet, though it will account for only 4.3 per cent of worldwide ad spending in 2005, it will power 16 per cent of global advertising growth for the year, according to the report. The agency further predicts that by 2007, the internet will have a 5 per cent share of global ad spend.

The Internet's market share growth is not going to come from television though, which will hold steady at around 37 per cent share worldwide for the next two years. It will come principally from print and radio, the report predicts.