The X Factor is set to go global with an international version broadcast from Las Vegas that could reach an audience of more than 40 million.

Moneyspinner: X Factor hopefuls could repeat the success of semi-finalist Stacey Solomon, left, if show supremo Simon Cowell realises a new plan to stage twice-weekly contests in Las Vegas

The move would be the first step in a plan to further Simon Cowell's ambitions to become a dominant international entertainment mogul, with franchises of the show in countries around the world.

Cowell and business partner Sir Philip Green, the Topshop owner, are planning to stage two shows a week at a big venue in the American gambling capital and broadcast them over the internet on a pay-per-view basis. The pair will then aim to stage X Factor competitions in other key locations around the world, using Bernie Ecclestone's travelling Grand Prix circuit as a business model.

The move could make Cowell, who earns an estimated £50 million a year, even wealthier. As well as television rights, Cowell also profits from record sales by acts signed to his Syco label.

In a joint interview with GQ magazine, Cowell and Sir Philip said they were in negotiations with the chief executive of a major venue in Las Vegas — which he suggested would be Caesar's Palace.

Sir Philip told the magazine: “The plan is to take it to Vegas, I'm not going to tell you with who, but the CEO of the venue is coming to see us next week.

“We'll have a permanent place, likely to be Caesar's Palace. The home of X Factor — live from Las Vegas!”

Sir Philip said the show would be available online on a pay-per-view basis. “You have 20, 30, 40 million people tuning in twice a week,” he said. “You bring two or three hundred million viewers to a venue. It's taking it up a peg.”

The rest of the world, he said, was “Part Two”. After Las Vegas, they aim to conquer the globe with a series of shows set in different locations. Cowell said he was impressed by the concept of Grand Prix events developed by Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone.

“I like the model of what Bernie Ecclestone has done. The Singapore race is as good as the French race is as good as the English race.”

The ambitious scheme would see Cowell capitalise on his celebrity status in the US, where he is already renowned for his acerbic appearances as a judge on American Idol.

The show is produced by former business partner Simon Fuller's company 19 Entertainment, which also created the original series of Pop Idol in the UK and has rolled out the brand around the world, something Cowell now wants to replicate with the X Factor.

Cowell also produces America's Got Talent in the US — the format that produced the Susan Boyle phenomenon — but is prevented by his American Idol contract from appearing onscreen as a judge.

This season of The X Factor has proved the show is as popular as ever with between an average of between 13 and 14 million viewers regularly tuning in every weekend.