At 99 cents per vote and no voting limits, the public will get a chance to help 29 Miss Virginia contestants get closer to walking the 2009 pageant runway as semi-finalists.

The Miss Virginia organization, which will hold the pageant June 25 to 27 at the Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre, is trying a new online voting system that will allow people to cast unlimited votes for 99 cents each.

The top vote-getter will become the 11th finalist and earn a chance to win the title. She will receive a people's choice scholarship at the end of the pageant.

Pageant organizers said they are charging for the votes because the economy affected sponsorship revenue that used to go toward scholarships.

"Everybody is looking for out-of-the-box ways to try to increase revenue, and reality TV is where everybody is going now," said Mark Schreier, director and producer of the 2009 pageant.

Car dealerships and telephone companies are still sponsors, but they are not contributing in the same amounts, said Bootie Chewning, executive producer of the pageant. The money raised through online voting will go toward scholarships.

Revenue purposes aside, organizers said the new voting system also engages more television viewers in the pageant by giving them the chance to choose a semi-finalist.

"We are excited about it. It is like 'American Idol,'" Chewning said.

Organizers first offered Internet voting last year, but it was limited to one vote per person. About 10,500 votes were registered. This year's online voting began Monday. Visit www.missva.com to vote.