SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Internet advertising revenues in the United States rose slightly in the third quarter from the previous three months, a hopeful sign in the overall difficult media industry, said a new report released on Wednesday.

    In the third quarter, U.S. Internet ad revenues reached nearly 5.5 billion U.S. dollars, representing a 1.7-percent increase from the second quarter and the first sequential gain since late 2008, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said in the report.

    However, U.S. Internet ad revenues in the quarter were down 5.4percent when compared with the same period a year earlier.

    "While all segments of the media industry have experienced declines, online advertising remains resilient and is once again showing signs of growth," David Silverman, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said in a statement.

    "The advertising sector overall has been hard hit by the economy, but digital media has been a bright spot within the larger economic downturn as it is capturing an ever-increasing piece of marketers' advertising spend," noted Randall Rothenberg, president of the IAB.

    IAB, a trade association for interactive marketing, is comprised of more than 375 media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86 percent of online advertising in the United States.