Sohu says online spending will slow

Beijing - Chinese search engine Sohu is confident marketers spending will continue to drift online into the fourth quarter, but says a post-Olympic slowdown is inevitable.

Sohu's advertising revenue and sponsored search to September 2008 accounted for 42% of total revenues of US$121 million, reflecting a growth of 18% quarter-on-quarter.

But ad revenue for the fourth quarter is predicted to slump from US$51.1 million of the previous quarter to US$47.5 million.

"Advertisers are increasingly interested in implementing their online marketing campaigns on Sohu's platform as a result of the significant expansion in unique visitors on our site," Belinda Wang (pictured), co-president and chief marketing officer of Sohu.com, said.