Oxford, England  - It is no surprise that students attending an Oxford college might want to show off their elite status. But now shops in the city have gone one step further and are selling underwear with a picture of the extinct Dodo, the DNA of which scientists at Oxford have succeeded in isolating.

That sales gimmick may seem a little quirky to outsiders but Oxford is following a development where universities are making money with sales of printed t-shirts, baseball caps and coffee mugs. The English university is trying to lead the pack by offering items such as golf balls and necklaces with university logos or even hats for babies.

The trend has been noticed in Germany which is still far behind in the university-merchandising stakes. "But in principle every German university is trying to do the same," says Jochen Taaks, business manager at Universitaet Hamburg Marketing.

Clothing items are the most popular form of merchandising, which is a welcome development for anyone trying to promote their university "because they are highly visible."

T-shirts and sweatshirts with the university's name printed on the front are among the best ways to give a university's name a public face. German higher education institutions from Oldenburg in the north to Tuebingen in the south are now jumping on the merchandising bandwagon.

Oldenburg university sells souvenirs ranging from coffee mugs to visiting card holders. Bauhaus University in Weimar has cloth bags with slogans printed on them that draw upon the institution's history such as "Discover the Gropius in You."

The university shop in Heidelberg has key rings and laptop bags together with a myriad assortment of merchandising products. "Many tourists like to go shopping here," says university spokeswoman Marietta Fuhrmann, "but the most important target group are our students and alumni."

Much of the merchandising sold on German universities comes from Campus Sportswear in Cologne. Its founder Alexander Grunert got the idea while on a visit to the US in the 1990s. "In the beginning he sold t-shirts on a wallpaper table in front of Cologne's university," says company employee Alexandra Breuers.

At first interest was relatively low, "but since then a lot has changed." One reason for the change is that many German students who study abroad have discovered that it is quite normal to wear clothing bearing a university's name. "And also because university clothing has become cool and trendy."

In the past when German universities were more or less interchangeable in terms of what they offered there was little sense in trying to promote an image. "But the German university system is becoming more diverse," says Fuhrmann. "Students have to be much more conscious of which university they choose."

Jochen Taaks, however, warns against putting too much importance on university merchandising: "You cannot compare merchandising here with America." The demand for university clothing and goods is much smaller in Germany than in the US.

Some of the products that seem to be original often end up gathering dust on the shelves. Taaks can recall a discussion he had with a salesman about ties with university logos. "I'll make you a good offer," the salesman promised. "You give me 10,000 euros and I will not send you a single tie." Taaks asked him how he could profit from such a deal. The salesman replied "You will save the storage costs." (dpa)