A hoax website that tells users they can develop an all-year tan by staring at their computer screen has received more than one million hits in the last two months.

Computertan.com, which describes itself as a safe and easy "revolutionary new online tanning service", encourages users to download a free trial in which they are given a mock skin-analysis and see tubes from a sun-bed flash up on screen. At the end of the trial a message says, "Don't be fooled, UV exposure can kill", followed by a series of images that show the effects of sun damage. The site has been set up by Skcin, a charity based in Nottingham in memory of Karen Clifford, a local resident who died from skin cancer in 2005.

A spokesperson from Skcin said: "This is an astonishing response and has undoubtedly helped raise awareness of the dangers of skin cancer."