A TV advertisement starring former 'Baywatch' star Pamela Anderson has been banned for being sexist and degrading to women.

The commercial, for web hosting firm Dreamscape Networks, had the actress chairing a meeting of men. One of the men then fantasied about Anderson and her assistant dancing together in bikinis, reported Daily Mirror.

Dreamscape argued the ad portrayed Anderson and her assistant as "attractive, dynamic and confident business people."

The Advertising Standards Authority said it understood that the ad was intended to be a humorous and light-hearted parody of a mundane business meeting.

But it said the female characters were portrayed sexually throughout the ad, not just during the fantasy sequence, noting that their shirts were open to expose.

"Because of that, we considered the ad was likely to cause serious offence to some viewers on the basis that it was sexist and degrading to women," the ASA said.