An international advertising body is hoping to revitalise the flagging online advertising market by launching a series of alternatives to the ubiquitous banner advert.

The Internet Advertising Bureau - whose members include MSN and Yahoo! - has unveiled a series of advertising formats it hopes will capture advertisers' imaginations.

Big is beautiful seems to be the order of the day.

The new formats include the "skyscraper", a tall, skinny oblong at the side of a web page, and the "rectangle", a horizontal box that is much bigger than a banner.

Many advertisers have tired of the banner format, which relies on internet users clicking on it to go to the advertiser's site.

The format has become so common many internet users ignore it altogether.

Advertisers frequently complain the space is too small to carry their message.

The new, bigger sizes mean users won't have to click through to another site because the advert itself will contain the full message.

The IAB is based in New York but also has offices in several European countries, including the UK. The UK office has said it was in consultation with its US counterpart about the new formats but has yet to adopt them formally.