Snip!t from collection of Alan Dix

<p class="introduction" id="story_continues_1">This autumn more than a million students are going to take part in an experiment that could re-invent the landscape of higher education.</p> <p>Some of the biggest powerhouses in US higher education are offering online courses - testing how their expertise and scholarship can be brought to a global audience. </p> <p>Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have formed a $60m (&#xa3;38m) alliance to launch edX, a platform to deliver courses online - with the modest ambition of "revolutionising education around the world". </p> <p>Sounding like a piece of secret military hardware, edX will provide online interactive courses which can be studied by anyone, anywhere, with no admission requirements and, at least at present, without charge.</p>