I would like to have a general purpose linux server available and publicly accessible. I understand that there are no lack of web-hosting companies, but I might want more control over the machine than is typical.

I would want the ability to install software, such as an SVN server, and I would like to be able to expose various port numbers, as I may have a variety of extremely low traffic sites that I would want to have available.

Obviously, one option is to host such a machine in my home. Is that my only option? Or is what I describe out there, possible as a virtual machine on a larger server?