Los Angeles - She may set up a halfway house for ex-jailbirds like herself. Alternatively, she's talked about a foundation to help needy kids. Then there's always the possibility that she'll go right back to the pampered life of a billionaire heiress. But whatever Paris Hilton does upon her release from jail Tuesday, one thing is clear, her every move will be scrutinized so thoroughly she may yet come to regard her tiny prison cell as a much-needed cocoon.
The level of media coverage of Hilton says a lot more about society as a whole than it does about the privileged hotel princess. And even if she tries to change her entire life around and actually start avoiding publicity, the packs of paparazzi are sure to follow her every move.
Hilton, 26, entered jail on June 3 to serve a 45-day sentence for violating probation imposed for driving drunk in her Bentley Continental. Under sentencing guidelines, the term was reduced to 23 days, including the controversial day she was released to house arrest for severe claustrophobia before a judge ordered her back to jail.
That incident saw a distraught and dishevelled Hilton cry and protest in court. But since then she has been making all the right noises to persuade people that she intends to become the next Mother Teresa.
"I would like to make a difference," she told TV interviewer Barbara Walters in a call from jail. "God has given me this new chance."
Last week she was feeling even more saintly. "I'm so much more grateful for everything that I have, even just to have a pillow at night or food," Hilton told American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.
She added that she plans to open a transitional home to help women once they have been released from jail.
"These women just keep coming back because they have no place to go," she said. "It's a really bad cycle and if we stop it now, we can make our community a better place."
Hilton also said that to meet her altruistic goals she will have to distance herself from the friends with whom she shared the ultimate hedonistic lifestyle.
She will certainly need to be on better behaviour than in the past. Her probation remains in effect till March 2009, meaning that she can be slung back in jail at any time until then for even minor infractions.
One group who will definitely be keeping their distance are her neighbours. Dozens of them have signed a petition urging her to be booted from the area because of the constant commotion caused by the hordes of paparazzi and overflying helicopters trying to catch her every move.
Hilton will reveal more of her plans in her first live interview as a former con Wednesday night with CNN's Larry King. Previous plans for her to be paid a reported 1 million dollars for interviews with the ABC and NBC networks were dropped, largely because the huge payout might have cast doubts about her commitment to altruism.
