THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LYNCHBURG -- Liberty University soon will offer on campus skiing on fake snow -- all year long.

Officials of the Christian school announced today that a 40,537-square-foot area of the school's Liberty Mountain will be covered with a slippery carpeted surface used in Europe called Snowflex, which imitates the properties of snow.

Plans call for a main slope of 450 to 500 feet, a beginner slope and a ski lodge. Construction is to begin in late August or early September, with completion by January.

Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said the year-round ski slope will help Liberty break the stereotype "that Christian education is synonymous with boredom."

The school did not disclose the cost of the project, but said it was being funded by a donation.