NEW YORK — Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione has offered Monica Lewinsky $2 million for exclusive rights to her story, along with seminude photographs of her choosing, the magazine said in a statement Wednesday.

In a letter to William Ginsburg, Lewinsky's attorney, Guccione said Lewinsky would have the right to select or edit photos of herself for publication in the monthly. Guccione asked for a reply "at your earliest convenience.''

Lewinsky is at the heart of a scandal that has rocked the White House. President Clinton has unequivocally denied allegations he had an affair with Lewinsky when she was a 21-year-old White House intern and tried to cover it up by encouraging her to lie under oath.

Penthouse has a history of publishing photos and stories of women that reports have linked to Clinton. In 1992 it carried an exclusive interview with Gennifer Flowers, along with photos showing her wearing only a transparent wrap, and in 1996 it published a story, accompanied by seminude photos, about Paula Corbin Jones that revealed a history of sexual adventures.

At competitor Playboy, a spokeswoman declined to say whether the magazine had approached Lewinsky or her representatives, since its policy was not to discuss contents until there was a deal, with pictures.