US:In her last hours of freedom before starting her 23-day prison sentence for driving offences, Paris Hilton stayed true to form until the bitter end, ensuring she soaked up as much attention as possible before submitting to her punishment.
Wearing a ruffled black gown and diamante hair clips, the author, actress, perfume manufacturer and heiress attended the MTV movie awards in Los Angeles, walking straight from the red carpet into the hands of the authorities after the ceremony.
Hilton will be residing in Los Angeles's Century Regional Detention Facility, despite her complaint to California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that "this sentence was both cruel and unwarranted. I don't deserve this".
An online petition, Free Paris Hilton, attracted more than 30,000 signatures. Unfortunately, another petition, Jail Paris Hilton, got almost 88,000. Nonetheless, her sentence has been halved from the original 45 days to 23.
Hilton is the great-granddaughter of the hotel magnate Conrad Hilton. She first came to prominence when a former boyfriend released a video of the two of them on the internet, memorably entitled One Night in Paris.
PR companies and celebrity websites have been quick to capitalise on her incarceration. But the person most likely to make money out of Hilton's troubles is Hilton. She is being paid $500,000 to keep a prison diary, and estimates of how much she could earn for her first TV interview exceed that, proving that there may be some merit to Hilton's maxim for a good life: "I don't really think, I just walk."
- (Guardian service)