The content of internet marketing is the responsibility of the publishers, even if the adverts in question are chosen by an automated system, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said.

OUT-LAW.com requested the ASA's opinion on the matter after an advert on the Guardian website which was attached to a feature about the resignation of Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf was deemed by one reader to be inappropriate.

While the body will not be investigating in this case, an ASA spokesman did tell the OUT-LAW.com that "if ads are generated automatically there should be checks in place, people need to be responsible for the ads they show and they need to meet the requirements of the code".

However, he added that while ASA codes only apply to the content of the advert and "not to the decision to show it", the context could make a difference, something online marketing services should take note of.

According to a Google spokesman who talked to the website, technology is used to stop the wrong adverts appearing on sensitive issues, like a plane crash.

But as online publishers differ from other media in that they do not choose which adverts to show, should they be responsible when things go wrong?

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