BRAINY cyber-beauty Alex, whose 3D image generated by a York hi-tech firm is set to make millions, has suddenly become Smart Alex.

The computer-generated female, created by Lexicle of the York Innovation Centre and capable of hearing and responding to the human voice, has just attracted a Government Smart Award of £45,000.

The existence of Alex, who was originally dubbed Alexa, was revealed exclusively in the Evening Press in February.

Now the DTI-sponsored award will back development of what is likely to revolutionise call centre companies and customer service organisations. On-line customers will be able to fully interact with the affable Alex as if talking to another person.

She has gestures to match her words and can be programmed to offer information and financial advice on any subject from ISAs to car warranties.

Some believe that Alex could eradicate the need for manpower-heavy call centres completely, with humans used merely as a back-up.

Instead of ringing a call centre, users can log on to the Internet and either type in a query or actually speak to Alex. She will provide facts and, if necessary, complete any sale.

The new funding has been secured with the help of Roger Benson, technology adviser of Business Link North Yorkshire.

Lexicle consists of three breakaway executives from Micromuse, a London-based $7 billion software company, combined with the expertise of two lecturers in the University of York's department of computer science, plus two top graduates from York.

Director Andrew Ormsby said: "We are establishing a number of relationships, mainly in the financial services industry where we see Alex being of most use. We expect a version of her to go live by the end of the year, but we will only announce details then."

Mr Ormsby said the main difference between Lexicle's technology and others being developed "is that we take a meaning-based approach to language and apply it to our software."

He said: "Instead of the software merely responding to particular keywords, Alex has a deeper understanding of the semantics behind language."