Today in freaky start-ups: RentYourSoul.com

From News.com

Pierre Ayotte, noted in his press release as a "friendly upcoming Internet opportunist"--i.e. not The Devil Himself, just to be clear--would like to rent your soul for ten bucks a week.

It's a new twist on an old non-profit business model. He's gambling on the chance that the soul-leasing business will earn enough money to stay afloat from the charities who pay weekly to advertise on his site, RentYourSoul.com.

Ayotte swears he's not working for Beelzebub. He'll pay you $10 and also donate $10 to the charity of your choice, selected from the nonprofits posting to RentYourSoul.

If you've ever been tempted to trade your soul for fame, fortune, or other significant gains, you're in good company: Homer and Bart Simpson, Dr. Faustus, Charlie Daniels' violin-wielding "Johnny," and any number of Blues players have risked perdition with the Prince of Darkness. One News.com staffer claims to have sold her soul in exchange for her almost supernatural Guitar Hero skillz.

Instead of skirting the fiery pit of eternal damnation, why not simply lease your soul for a good cause? It only takes a few minutes to post a photo of yourself, and if he posts your photo on the home page, you're soul-free for a week and ten dollars richer afterward. No, you can't have hordes of dancing girls and wealth beyond your wildest dreams in exchange. But you can have the satisfaction of a deed well done for the good of others.

What's the risk? It's an asset almost all of us possess, and chances are, you're not using yours anyway.

HT: Emily Shurr