FTC proposes online ad principles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday proposed a set of behavioral marketing principles for online advertising at the same time it approved Google Inc's (GOOG.O) acquisition of rival advertiser DoubleClick.

The set of principles are intended "to guide the development of self-regulation in this evolving area," the FTC said in a statement. The agency asked for public comment on its proposal.

Behavioral advertising involves tracking a consumer's activities online, including Web searches and sites visited, to target advertisements to the individual consumer's interests.

(Reporting by Julie Vorman; Editing by Derek Caney)