text: Newswire: First-half Online Ad Spending Soars (AdWeek.com) AdWeek.com - Internet ad revenue rose nearly 40 percent to  #36;4.6 billion in the first half of 2004 compared to the year-ago period, according to a report released last week. In the second quarter, online ad revenue was  #36;2.37 billion, up almost 43 percent from  #36;1.66 billion during the same period last year and up 6 percent from  #36;2.23 billion in the first quarter. The figures are from the Internet Revenue Report, sponsored by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and conducted independently by the New Media Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers. ...