You can't work all the time. Well, you can work all the time but you will be a dull boy (or girl), as the adage says. So, each evening after I finish up my work of answering emails or making corrections to articles and weblog posts, I like to listen to some Internet radio and play a few online games much to the chagrin of my wife.

Both gaming and music are big business on the Web. More than just bandwidth hogs, they provide me (and I am sure countless others) endless hours of entertainment. And, both these entertainment options are increasingly being filled with advertising.

With gaming its advergaming and it comes in all forms. Take my two favorite free online gaming sites - freeonlinegames.com and addictinggames.com. Both regularly feature games that are sponsored; embedded logos within the games as well as streaming video and flash before the game appears.

With Web Radio it is two different variations of advertising (I encounter audio ad spots and contextual advertising most often). The contextual is regularly poorly targeted but the radio ad spots are very targeted. My favorite online radio station 3WK.com had a recent ad for car manufacturer Kia. The ads were relevant because the cars are ideal (because of price, features, etc.) for those within the age range of the majority of their listeners: 18-35. Overall I was immensely impressed - not enough to advertise - but only because I'm not selling anything.

PPC, SEO, Email, etc. get a lot of attention on the Web and for a good reason - they work. I can say this for advergaming and online radio advertising though - I remember the ads I saw when I played those games and maybe, just maybe, I'll buy my wife a Kia.

Pete Prestipino - WSM Managing Editor