Stern presiding over virginity auction

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Radio shock jock Howard Stern reportedly is helping auction off the virginity of a San Diego woman trying to raise money for college.

The New York Daily News reported Stern is to kick off the auction on his Sirius radio show Tuesday. The auction is to be conducted online via bunnyranch.com, and the woman and the winning bidder are expected to have sex at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal house of prostitution in Nevada.

"I don't have a moral dilemma with it," the 22-year-old brunette, who isn't using her real name, told the newspaper. "We live in a capitalist society. Why shouldn't I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?"

"I think it's a tremendous idea," added Dennis Hof, proprietor of the Bunny Ranch. "Why lose it to some guy in the backseat of a Toyota when you can pay for your education?"

The woman said she plans to finance a master's degree in marriage and family therapy at Sacramento State University.

"I understand some people may condemn me," the woman told the Daily News. "But I think this is empowering. I'm using what I have to better myself."