UPDATE 2-Akamai profit exceeds expectations, shares jump

* Q1 EPS excluding items $0.43, beats Wall St view $0.40

* Q1 revenue $210.4 mln also beats expectations

* Sees Q2 EPS ex-items $0.40-0.42 vs Street view $0.41

* Sees Q2 rev $207-213 mln vs Street view $212 mln

* Shares jump 5.7 pct after-hours

(Adds revenue forecast; CEO quotes; share price)

NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM.O) reported a rise in quarterly profit as more companies sought its service of helping run online businesses smoothly by navigating less congested routes over the Internet.

Akamai shares rose 5.7 percent after the company said first-quarter revenue rose 12 percent to $210.4 million, exceeding the average analyst forecast of $208.5 million according to Reuters Estimates.

It also forecast revenue of $207 million to $213 million and earnings excluding items of 40 cents to 42 cents a share, in line with market expectations and providing some relief to investors nervous about the impact of weaker technology spending.

"I think people were really afraid of the bad economy and how that was going to affect the business," Akamai Chief Executive Paul Sagan told Reuters.

"The first quarter gives us some comfort," he said, but declined to give an outlook for the full year due to a weaker global economy.

First quarter net profit rose to $37.1 million from $36.9 million, although it was unchanged per share at 20 cents.

Excluding items, earnings rose to 43 cents from 41 cents a year earlier, better than analysts' average forecast of 40 cents a share.

The company had forecast in February first-quarter revenue of $205 million to $212 million, and earnings excluding items of 39 cents to 41 cents a share.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and News Corp (NWSA.O)-owned MySpace use Akamai's services to deliver online music, videos and other content.

The company also said its board authorized a $100 million share repurchase. It said it plans to buy back shares over the next several quarters to offset dilution created by its current equity compensation programs.