The British Broadcasting Corp. (BCC) is considering selling ads on its website that would be seen by viewers outside the United Kingdom, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Nielsen//NetRatings reports that the BBC website was the 23rd most-popular site in the world last month with 24.4 million visitors.

A coalition of British newspaper publishers asked the British government to force the BBC to stop funding its websites with public money and limit its online expansion. The BBC is partly funded by a fee levied on British homes with a television therefore, many see the BBC's move in the internet advertising sphere will give it an unfair advantage.

The BBC is currently testing mocked-up travel and finance ads to selected readers in the United States and Canada. Depending on the feedback, the BBC told the Journal that it could start selling internet ads by Christmas this year.