Google’s UK advertising revenue has risen by 83 per cent, making the search engine second only to ITV as Britain’s highest advertising earner.

In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Google said that revenue from its UK advertisements had risen above $1.6 billion (£825 million) in 2006. That put it ahead of Channel 4, with just over £800 million.

ITV’s most recent figures showed advertising revenues of £1.63 billion, although Google was expected to close that gap after half-yearly results for the broadcaster indicated that revenues had fallen by 8 per cent.

Analysts estimate that ITV, which is to file its 2006 figures on Wednesday, will have advertising revenues of about £1.47 billion. Google denied that the rise in its revenues, which have nearly quadrupled in the UK since 2004, represented a threat to traditional media, saying that broadcasters stood to benefit greatly from growth in online advertising.

“The market for online ads is growing and there’s room for many players within it,” an official said.

The internet search company also revealed that the SEC had made a formal request to investigate its tax accounting. Google said that it had received several requests for information from the SEC in March last year, but so far had not responded to the request about filing taxes.

“We believe that we properly account for our income taxes,” the company said. “We will continue to work to resolve these comments with the SEC.”

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