Advertising growth is slowing down as the lure of the internet sucks marketing spend away from traditional media.

The latest research from media monitoring company ACNielsen MMS shows that the growth in UK ad spend dropped to 4% in the year to September 2000, down from 7% in the previous year.

And the growth in advertising spend was mainly driven by the dot.com and IT sectors, prompting fears that the advertising market could fall if, as experts predict, struggling dot.coms begin to cut their marketing budgets.

In the last year advertising revenues have been dramatically boosted by the flood of internet companies launching high-profile TV and billboard campaigns.

The growth in dot.com ad spend is now falling as more and more internet companies go to the wall.

Several industries that have traditionally been big advertisers have actually cut their advertising spend over the last year.

The food and drink sector spent £1.073bn in the 12 months to September 2000, some £60m less than in the previous year. And the car sector saw a drop of nearly £100m, from £984m in 1998-99 to £887m in 1999-2000.

ACNielsen MMS analyst Jeremy Ridgeway said: "The advertising industry is used to high levels of growth but these latest figures show some potentially worrying results.

"A late surge in pre-Christmas advertising will almost certainly boost spend to the £10bn mark but the industry will do well to post growth over 5% this year."

Spending on direct mail fell in the 12 months to September as the financial services sector, traditionally the biggest user of direct mail, switched its allegiance to TV and press advertising.