An Italian showgirl and former Big Brother contestant is trying to sell her virginity for a million Euros.

Raffaele Fico, 20, who has posed for a variety of magazines in a series of racy photographs, also wants to be an actress.

Ms Fico said she needed the money to buy an apartment because she wanted to move out of her rented house and get acting lessons.

For sale: Raffaele Fico, 20, has put her virginity up for a million euros in a bizarre auction

Ms Fico, from Naples, told glossy Italian weekly Chi:"I can't wait to see who's going to pull out the money to have me. I don't know what it's like to have sex.

"But if I don't like him I'll just have a glass of wine and forget about it."

Her brother told the magazine: "She's never had a boyfriend. I swear on my mother's grave. 

"She's a devout Catholic and prays to Padre Pio every night."

Fico is a 'devout Catholic' who has never had a boyfriend, her brother swears

Fico, whose asking price translates into almost £700,000, is not the first woman to offer her virginity for big money.

An 18-year-old US student in San Diego, Natalie Dylan, recently told the Howard Stern show she would have sex for the first time for $1million to pay her college fees.

In 2005 a Peruvian model, also 18, put herself up for sale to help pay her family's medical bills but ended up having second thoughts and turning down $1.5million.

Manchester University student Carys Copestake asked for £10,000 to pay her fees on a website last year.

The  18-year-old reportedly found a buyer but would not talk about it.