HOW did a maths prodigy who entered Oxford University at the age of 13 become a prostitute?

Last week, The News of the World stunned all who had known Ms Sufiah Yusof when it revealed the sad tale of a brilliant mind.

She had been offering her services for £130 ($360) a session.

Yesterday, the 23-year-old told the same newspaper why she entered the sordid world of sex and how she was putting her knowledge of maths to use in her trade.

She claimed how selling her body for up to £1,000 a time provides her with a far more 'glamorous' life than she ever dreamt of when she went to Oxford.

'My clients love the fact that I can stimulate their minds and their bodies.

'And I don't believe my education has been wasted. In fact, I usually take problem sheets with me to solve before appointments,' she told the paper in an interview.

How did she end up in the escort business?

Ms Sufiah was working as an administrative assistant earning £16,000 a year in Manchester when an escort agency boss approached her in a bar four months ago.

Her financial situation was not bright at that time as she had run up debts of £3,500 in rent arrears and credit cards.

The rewards that the agency boss promised tempted her to enter the sleazy world.

'When this immaculate lady in a designer suit asked if I had ever considered escorting, I found it appealing.

'I went home, researched agencies on the Internet and found one I thought looked professional. I sent them photographs and they put me on their site.'

A few days later she was offered her first client.

'I slipped on some black lace underwear and stockings and suspenders and a dress.

'He was waiting for me at the bar of the Hilton.

'He was only in his late 20s.'

She claimed that since then she has built up a base of regular rich clients and sees about five to 10 men each week.

She boasted about her rich clients treat her to fabulous clothes, designer bags, trips on yachts and even helicopter rides.

'My clients treat me like a princess. One guy I see in London took me shopping on Bond Street. He bought me a beautiful black Gucci dress for £700 and then took me to Selfridges and told me to pick any handbag I liked.'

She chose a £600 Gucci clutch. 'I'm a Primark and Topshop girl normally!'

Unlike many, she has only praise for the escort business.

'People think escorting is sleazy and terrible but I don't see it like that,' she says.

'I have men who are thrilled about my passion for mathematics. In fact, one made me recite equations while he pleasured me.'

She bragged that she can earn more than £1,000 in a night by having dinner with a client and staying over.

'It's like they want to rescue me. One man asked me how much I earned a year. I said £60,000. He told me, 'I'll pay that amount straight into your bank and buy you a flat and you can be my mistress.'

'But I don't want that because I'm happy doing what I do. Now I wonder if I could go back to a normal relationship, where you watch EastEnders and have boring sex.'

However, her family is dismayed to hear her story. Her brother Iskander Yusof, who graduated from Warwick University at the age of 15, told BBC that their Johor-born mother was 'not best pleased' to hear where her daughter's career had taken her.

He said that despite everything that has gone on, the family hopes that she gets intouch.

She has not seen them for three years.

'If she wants to resolve this issue, she needs to think about it herself,' he said.

After Ms Sufiah spilt from her husband in 2005, she moved to London where she taught maths in the evenings to make ends meet. Then six months ago she moved to Manchester and entered the escort business.

But she admits not all her sexual encounters work out. 'At the end of the day, you don't have to sleep with a client if you don't want to. I've done that twice now.

'Both men were young and very nervous. I just left.

'The dullest client I've ever had was a rich man who talked about cars all night. It was really, really boring.'

She is confident she can easily find a job in London which can match her £60,000 earnings, but she is not keen.

'I have a nice life. I don't want for anything.'

Not even for a reunion with her family.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Apr 6, 2008.