IT’S like something out of Lord of the Flies, but with real flies and a state-of-the-art computer thrown in: the chance to stay on a tropical island miles from civilisation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

A group of imaginative twentysomethings has struck a deal with a Fijian tribal chief to lease a 200-acre island with neither electricity lines nor fresh water supplies. Places in a new “tribe” to run the island are being offered to the first 5,000 applicants.

Places were put on sale this week, with a year’s “Nomad” membership (allowing one week’s stay) costing £120, two years’ “Hunter” membership (allowing a fortnight each year) £240, and three years’ “Warrior” membership (allowing 21 days each year) £360.

More than 20 people have already signed up, including City bankers, advertising executives, artists, musicians and students. Most are aged 23-36 and are from Britain, with a handful from Australia. The first “tribe members” are expected to arrive this summer.

The idea is to have 100 people on the island at a time, responsible for building and maintaining a village on a flat area of coconut groves between three old volcanic peaks.

The island, which has four inhabitants from the local Yavusa tribe who will help with projects, is called Voro Voro. It is a 90-minute transfer from Fiji Nadi International Airport; flights from the UK cost about £700. The nearest island is a 25-minute boat ride away.

An internet computer link — powered by solar panels — will be used to ask absent members to vote on tribal issues, such as what structures to build, what food to grow, and how to dispose of waste. Participants will be allowed to take what they want on to the island, and food can be delivered from the mainland.

Ben Keene, 26, from Malvern in Worcestershire, who works in the travel industry, is one of two “founding chiefs”, along with Mark James, also 26, a television production engineer from Liverpool.

Keene, whose tribal name is Ben Ghazi, said: “It’s all about the ‘my space’ generation and ‘online social networking’. There are all these chatting communities on the internet, but now you’ll be able to join one with its own island where you can meet other people.”

He said the idea was partly inspired by William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Alex Garland’s The Beach.

“Sure, there is potential for tension,” said Keene. “But in those stories, the communities got together by accident. And anyway, they’re just fictional.”

Details: www.tribewanted.com.