Apple today announced it will expand its iAd mobile advertising network to the UK and France this December, with Germany to follow in January. iAd will launch in Europe with iAds from L'Oreal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio. Since its US launch in July, iAd has emerged as a new way for advertisers to reach iPhone and iPod touch users right in their favorite apps, while providing a new revenue stream for developers. iAd has signed on over half of the top 25 US national advertisers in just four months, with a projected 21 percent share of US mobile display advertising revenue for 2010 according to research firm IDC.

iAd, which is built into iOS 4, lets users stay within their current app while engaging with an ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes content. With user engagement times averaging more than 60 seconds per visit, iAds combine the quality of TV ads with the interactivity of digital for something entirely new.

Developers who join the iAd Network can incorporate a variety of advertising formats into their apps. Apple offers developers a standard 60 percent of the iAd Network revenue, which is paid via iTunes Connect.