Preseli Bluestone in Oxford – the only company allowed to sell bluestone from the Preseli Hills in Wales, where the original Stonehenge rocks were sourced – is leading the commercially funded project, which will also feature a 40-room hotel, a planetarium, and a bar.

The replica will be made to look how Stonehenge would have when originally completed 5,000 years ago, with seven circles rather than the three that remain today.

As well as the Preseli bluestones, the new Stonehenge will use rock imported from around the world, including some from Jerusalem and Tibet.

Whitby Bird – a UK-based engineering firm – and the British Stone Federation are also involved in the scheme.

Several locations are presently being looked at, including the Cotswold Water Park.

Subject to planning permission, the visitor centre will be finished by summer 2008, when work on the stones will begin.

Visitors will be encouraged to witness the construction of the new attraction and a film crew will follow its progress.

The real Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, attracts around 800,000 visitors a year and Dr Colin Shearing, creative director at Preseli Bluestone, said he hoped the replica version would be able to match that number by 2012. Details: www.stonehengestones.com