David Beckham, already a millionaire several times over, is set to become a dotcom tycoon as leading internet firms vie to secure online rights to his name and image in a deal worth up to £8m.

The player's agent is offering the rights to run the Manchester United and England midfielder's official website to a number of firms, including the internet service provider Freeserve.

An official David Beckham website could help double his personal wealth by carrying exclusive photographs and interviews with the player, as well as offering videos, books and other merchandise.

In a recent survey, his fortune was valued at £7m, with £1.2m earned from playing football and the remainder coming from endorsements with Adidas and Brylcreem. This month he signed a book deal believed to be worth £1m. John Holmes, head of SFX Entertainments which represents Beckham, confirmed that several companies were interested in controlling the player's image online: "There have been various approaches for internet stuff relating to David Beckham, and being the internet there are some enormous figures involved."

Freeserve confirmed that they had been in contact with SFX Entertainments.

The bidding war over online control of the highest profile star in British sport indicates an increasing awareness among celebrities and their representatives that the web can give them greater control over their images than traditional media, as well as providing another source of revenue. Gerrard Tyrrell, a lawyer specialising in sport with Harbottle & Lewis, said: "If you can control the copyright on a significant amount of stuff - images and interviews and the like - the idea is that you strangle everyone else at birth and make sure that anyone who wants a bit of the player comes to you."