The angular and radial variation of the ion density and electron temperature in the plasma plume produced by laser ablation of silver at fluences of 0.8-1.3 J cm(-2) at 355 nm have been studied using a time-resolving Langmuir probe. The angular dependence of the electron temperature and the magnitude of the ion flux, at the time when the ion flux is maximised, agree with the predictions of the self-similar isentropic model of the plasma expansion by Anisimov et al. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.