Technology and media services company Exponential Interactive, which is owned by ad network Tribal Fusion, has released a report examining online advertising trends for 2008, with the aim of identifying some top trends. Among key marketing opportunities, unsurprisingly, Exponential's highlighted the virtual worlds space, and also credits "the massive proliferation and adoption of social networks."

Dilip DaSilva, Exponential's founder and CEO, noted that "Focus on issues such as transparency and privacy will continue to be a consideration," but feels "industry credibility has now been achieved and advertisers are embracing all of the possibilities for online marketing."

The report says that the popularity of virtual worlds will increase in 2008 -- "but it won't be Second Life," it adds."Instead, users will increasingly shift towards specialty worlds more closely associated with their lifestyles or interests. For Marketers, this means an opportunity to create whole worlds around products, or to customize environments inside specialty virtual environments."

Exponential parent Tribal Fusion claims Neopets and Coke Studios among worlds in its network. DaSilva added, "These are a few of the key topics we think will be consistently discussed during the conferences and industry events in 2008. We look forward to engaging our industry peers and business partners in the discussion; and to the ways these shifts and innovations will impact the next phase of online advertising."