"Speaking at the IAB Engage 2005 conference

in London, (Bill Gates), Microsoft chairman and chief software architect, told delegates that traditional media such as television, newspapers and magazines would move to being delivered via the Internet within the next decade, making debates about the role of internet advertising moot.

"'The future of advertising is the Internet,' Gates said.

"He admitted that there was still a question about building big brands on the Internet. 'That is the thing that traditional advertising is better at,' Gates said. 'But as it moves to the digital realm it will be hard to talk about what is and isn't internet advertising.'

"...Advertising would also be far more targeted, through high definition internet feeds.He predicted that over 50% of advertising will become personalised...

"However, Gates admitted that in the future there would be issues in protecting the privacy of internet users while at the same time allowing websites to be customised."

Read the full story at Digital Bulletin.