Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will be given the responsibility of handling online advertisements from 2011.

It means Advertising Standards Authority will also handle the travel Companies, whose products are being advertised online.

In order to cover all online marketing and advertising, including those on Twitter and Facebook, the British advertising watchdog is extending its range of control from March 1.

Presently, the power of ASA is limited to traditional advertising, including television and print. ASA said in its statement that it has come across 4,500 complaints related to online advertisements since 2008 and it has not been able to deal with any of those complains.

It has been confirmed by ASA that the most common complaints of adverts were related to misleading prices of products, including airfares that do not include taxes.

ASA’s Spokeswoman stated that the ASA has been given the authority to examine the complaints systematically and if any Company refuses to obey, its declarations will be removed from the “paid-for” links, with the help of a search engine.

The former Labour Culture Secretary and Chairman of the ASA, Lord Smith said in his statement that ASA will consider the protection of children and consumers.

“This significant extension of the ASA’s remit has the protection of children and consumers at its heart”, said Smith.