Facebook's Ad Revenue Expected to Hit $4 Billion in 2011

NEW YORK – Facebook’s advertising revenue could jump 118 percent this year to $4.05 billion and grow by more than 40 percent in 2012 to $5.74 billion, according to a new forecast from research firm eMarketer.

According to the New York Post, the firm revised its 2010 ad revenue estimates for Facebook, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, from $1.3 billion to $1.86 billion because of the social network’s explosive growth.

The measurement company expects that the network’s non-U.S. ad sales will equal U.S. revenue for the first time next year.

"Much of their growth has come from international markets. They're No. 1 in a lot of countries, except China, where they're blocked," eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson told the Post.

She predicts total U.S. social network ad revenue this year to grow 55 percent to $3.08 billion, with a whopping $2.19 billion going to Facebook.