Student debt idea nets nearly $1m

Alex is on target to graduate with a million dollars in his bank account

A college student is nearing his goal of graduating without debt by selling nearly a million US dollars of internet advertising space.

Alex Tew, 21, of Cricklade, Wiltshire, launched milliondollarhomepage.com before going to Nottingham University to study business management.

He has made $900,000 (£519,000) selling the million pixels on the site for one dollar (60p) apiece to companies.

He embarked on the scheme after his brother left university owing £30,000.

The website has a grid of 10,000 boxes, each 100 pixels (10 by 10) in size.

Customers can place advertising logos on the purchased space, linking web users to their own websites.

The pixels are sold in blocks of 10 with a minimum investment of $100.