The BBC has begun the controversial roll-out of adverts on its BBC.com international news website.
BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, hopes the move will bring in an estimated £70m a year.
The BBC.com ads, which started to appear from yesterday in certain key markets such as the US, are framed at the top and on the right hand side of web pages, with three major brands signed up for the first slots - British Airways, Airbus and watch maker Hublot.
BA will maintain a two-week presence on the news and sports sections of the BBC.com site, targeting European users, while Airbus has taken advertising space on the homepage globally.
The BBC.com managing director, Kym Niblock, said: "To have these global brands on board as our launch partners is a great validation of the thinking behind BBC.com.
"We're looking to generate revenue for the BBC by monetising its international traffic and these advertisers show the hunger that's out there for the audience we can offer.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for our global advertising partners to reach the BBC's discerning online audience for the very first time, in one of the world's largest news sites."
However, the move has already had an impact on international users, with the BBC's messageboards split between those annoyed with the ads and those who accept they are a necessary evil.
"I have just seen the adverts for the first time," said one. "I couldn't help but notice they are flashing and moving. Very, very distracting."
Others called for a subscription service for those who did not want to see the adverts - a move the BBC director of global news, Richard Sambrook, has said is under consideration.
Complaints have also been received from some users of the BBC's website in the UK who say they can see the adverts.
A BBC spokeswoman said this was often down to companies that have servers based abroad, and urged those affected to use BBC.co.uk's feedback page to alert the corporation.
The editor of the BBC News website, Steve Herrmann, gave reassurance that the adverts would not effect the BBC's editorial decision making.
"In editorial terms, the journalists will not be involved in any of the dealing with advertisers or with the scheduling of the ads," he wrote on his blog on the BBC's website.
He added that an "editorial guardian" paid for BBC Worldwide, which is overseeing the advertising, had been appointed to help assess ad campaigns and give guidance on what may lead to a conflict of interest or compromise the BBC's journalism.
"Journalists, guided by him, will have the ability to prevent ads appearing, for example, on sensitive or distressing stories," Mr Herrmann said.
The BBC estimates it has 28 million users outside the UK.
