The woman is using the alias Natalie Dylan "for safety reasons." Dylan has earned her bachelors degree in women’s studies from Sacramento State and in January she will start working on her master’s in marriage and family therapy there.

"I don’t have a moral dilemma with it," Dylan told the NY Daily News. "We live in a capitalists society. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?"

Dylan hopes the online bidding will reach $1 million. eBay would not allow the auction to take place on its site. The Nevada brothel, Moonlite Bunny Ranch is where the deal will be consummated. Dylan’s sister currently is working there to pay off her college debts.

To prove her virginity Dylan will submit to a polygraph test and a gynecological exam. The date for the auction was not immediately available.

Her mother, a conservative fourth-grade teacher does not approve of what she is doing, "but supports her."

"I understand some people may condemn me," said Dylan. "But I think this is empowering."

The news of the auction has created a buzz in the blogosphere. Connie Veneracion wrote on her blog,"A cool million is too much to pay for grad school. Put it another way, this seems to be a study on how stupid men can be that someone will actually offer that much to have sex with a virgin."

Mike Pechar writes on his blog,"I suggest it’s unusual for an attractive female to be born, bred, and schooled to the age of 22 in California with her virtue intact. Maybe abstinence was taught in her schools. Of course, a lot of good it does if one decides to become a whore."