Popups provoking PC people

NEW YORK, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. boom in pop-up ads on computer Web pages is a bubble ready to burst, the New York Times reported Monday.

The big ads that flash in separate windows above or below Web pages -- or in front of Web pages -- are among the most obnoxious features of the Internet.

They are also one of the most profitable.

But increasingly Internet service providers are treating pop-up ads like they do spam -- offering clients software that blocks the irritant.

Time Warner's AOL unit, Yahoo and Google all distribute such software, and this summer Microsoft will put a pop-up blocking feature in the next release of Internet Explorer, the dominant Web browser.

"There is a consumer revolt as forms of advertising get more intrusive," said Rob Kaiser, vice president for narrowband marketing at EarthLink, the first big Internet service provider to distribute pop-up blocking software.

The reaction to pop-ups, he said, is similar to the rush to join the government's do-not-call list to block telemarketing calls and the increase in the use of video recorders to block TV commercials.

Advertisers, though, note that consumers who block the ads are undercutting their own source of free Web-based entertainment and information.