LONDON (AFP) - British pop star George Michael has been cautioned by police after being arrested in a public toilet in London in possession of drugs, police said late Saturday.

"A 45-year-old man was arrested on 19 September on suspicion of possession of drugs in the Hampstead Heath area," a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.

The singer was taken to a police station and given the caution for possessing class A and class C drugs, police said.

Under British law, class A drugs can include crack cocaine.

Michael, 45, has admitted using drugs in the past.

In 2006, he was found slumped over the wheel of his car and last year he was given a two-year driving ban after pleading guilty to driving while unfit through drugs.

Michael has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, with seven US number one singles, 11 number one singles in Britain and six number one albums.

Last month he wrapped up his first tour for 15 years with concerts in London and Copenhagen and said they were his last ever arena and stadium shows.

On the tour, he wore a police uniform to perform his number one hit "Outside" which refers to his arrest in 1998 when he made lewd advances to an undercover male police officer in a public toilet in Beverly Hills, California.

LONDON (AFP) - Art dealer Jay Jopling and Turner Prize-nominated artist Sam Taylor-Wood, one of the world's most powerful art couples, have agreed to separate, they announced on Saturday.

The couple said that no one else was involved in their break-up, which comes after 11 years of marriage, during which time they had two daughters.

Jopling owns the White Cube Gallery, with artists including modern art headliners such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, while Taylor-Wood is best known for a video portrait of David Beckham sleeping.

"Jay Jopling and Sam Taylor-Wood are saddened to announce that, after 11 years of marriage, they have agreed amicably to separate," said White Cube gallery spokeswoman Sara Macdonald.

"No other parties are involved.

"For the sake of their two daughters, who are their number one priority, they have asked that their privacy be respected."

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards happen Sunday night, but the Hollywood action is already in full swing. Some run-up highlights:


CALM BEFORE THE STORM: Work hard, party right.

Emmy nominees Chandra Wilson, Sandra Oh, Sarah Silverman, Jon Hamm and Don Rickles were among the stars at a luxe party held in their honor Friday, where many said they needed the breather in a frantic week.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences feted nominated performers at a private soiree at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.

In a sunny room filled with yellow roses and orange daisies, a five-piece band played on the patio while guests munched on mini meat loaves, mac 'n' cheese and wild salmon "Wellington." They sipped martinis and a special wine vintage bottled just for the Emmys.

Guests also had a chance to try on pricey diamonds and make their own chocolate gift bags, and each took home a mini makeup kit for the big day.

For the nominees, it was a rare chance to relax in an otherwise busy week.

"I can't keep everything straight from day to day," said Hamm, up for his first Emmy for "Mad Men." "It's been very busy, but it's been busy for a good cause and an exciting cause."

Kathryn Joosten, who won an Emmy last week for her guest appearance on "Desperate Housewives," said she was all about enjoying the week's festivities.

"I already got my Emmy, so I'm just chilling now," she said.

Jon Cryer, who's enjoying his third Emmy nod for "Two and a Half Men," said he's just as happy for his colleagues as he is for himself.

"The excitement for me this year is seeing people like Jon Hamm get nominated," he said. "He and I did a pilot together years ago and it's like, 'Oh my God, he's nominated! This is fantastic!' (The Emmys) are like going to a huge great party with everybody you ever cared about professionally."

Though it's Hamm's first Emmy show, he said he won't make a big deal out of getting ready: "I'm probably going to watch some football, take a shower, put on my suit and go to the thing."

The show airs at 8 p.m EDT on ABC.

___

A MAJOR MASHUP: Josh Groban has raised us up, and now he's going to mix it up.

Groban spent some time Friday on the Nokia Theatre stage rehearsing a TV show theme-song medley he'll sing live from there for Sunday's show. It includes 25 favorite songs, from the "Golden Girls" theme to the "South Park" song — sung in the cartoon characters' voices.

Wearing black jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, his shaggy hair tucked under a gray cap, Groban ran through his four-minute performance as clips from "The Jeffersons" and "Cops" — played on giant screens behind him.

"Nothing I'm singing I've ever sung before, except for 'South Park' with friends," the 27-year-old said. "There's a lot of stuff that allows me to just be me, then there's a lot of stuff that allows me to let my multiple personalities to go play for a bit."

Emmy telecast producer Ken Ehrlich came up with the medley idea just after the Grammys, which he also produced. Ehrlich, Groban and musical director Greg Phillinganes started with 35 songs, then trimmed the selection down to for the show.

"Josh was the only person in my mind" for the performance, Ehrlich said. "I don't think there's anything he can't do or won't try, and that's the fun part."

The performance also includes dancing girls and a surprise appearance by an iconic TV personality.

"I'm so, so excited, especially on a show like the Emmys, to be able to go out there and just goof off," Groban said. "It's so much fun and I hope the audience has fun, too."

___

SEAL WILL BE THERE: Heidi Klum isn't nervous about co-hosting the Emmys. Just ask her husband.

"You know Heidi. I don't think she really gets nervous," he said on the red carpet Thursday during a Hollywood event at Paramount Studios honoring film producer Arnon Milchan and celebrating the 60th anniversary of Israel. "She's really excited. She's working hard."

Klum was so busy, she was unable to join Seal at the last minute at the glitzy event. The R&B singer, who attended last year's ceremony alongside Klum, said he would again be in the audience to support his supermodel wife.

However, Jason Alexander, who has been nominated for several Emmys but never won, is planning to steer clear of the show.

"Unless they're nominating me just because they like me, I can walk right by it and wave at it and not have to care, although I do have some friends that are nominated that I'll be rooting for at home," Alexander said before the event.

___

RED CARPET ROLLOUT: The Emmy red carpet doesn't resemble a long, elegant hallway. It's more like a living room.

The awards ceremony is being held at the Nokia Theatre for the first time, and instead of a stretch of red carpet, the entire plaza across from the Staples Center will be a carpeted canvas for celebrity interviews and photos.

Preparations began a week ago, with bleachers and platforms constructed outside the new theater. The parking garage is also part of the show: The roof will serve as a pressroom, while the bottom floor is where winners will claim their Emmy trophies.

The Emmy Awards will air live Sunday on ABC.

LONDON - It sounds like Harry Potter will vote for the Labour Party when the boy wizard is old enough to cast a ballot.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling made a rare foray into Britain's bruising political battles Saturday, donating $1.8 million to the struggling Labour Party and accusing the rival Conservatives of discriminating against poor parents trying to work their way out of poverty.

In a statement that referred back to the days when she was struggling to feed and cloth her family, Rowling said Prime Minister Gordon Brown has worked hard to reduce child poverty while Conservative chief David Cameron has proposed tax changes that would hurt working single parents.

"I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour Party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative Party," said Rowling, who has become one of the world's richest and most successful authors with the unprecedented appetite for Harry Potter stories.

The Labour Party opens its annual conference trailing the resurgent Conservatives by more than 20 points in most opinion polls with an election due within two years.

Brown, who is trying to quash a rebellion from some members of his own party, thanked Rowling for the donation, which comes at a time when the Labour Party is saddled with extensive debts. He said he was "delighted" with her help.

Rowling has generally stayed out of the political frays, but she appears to have been upset by Conservative tax plans that she said would increase benefits for married couples without helping single parents.

"David Cameron's promise of tax perks for the married is reminiscent of the Conservative government I experienced as a lone parent," she said. "It sends the message that the Conservatives still believe a childless, dual-income, but married couple is more deserving of a financial pat on the head than those struggling, as I once was, to keep their families afloat in difficult times."

British newspapers this year estimated Rowling's wealth at $1 billion.

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. - Hours after performing for thousands of South Carolina college students, former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM were critically injured in a fiery Learjet crash that killed four people, authorities said Saturday.

Officials said the plane carrying six people was departing shortly before midnight Friday when air traffic controllers reporting seeing sparks. The plane hurtled off the end of a runway and crashed through antennas and a fence. It came to rest a quarter-mile away on an embankment across a five-lane highway and was engulfed in flames, said Debbie Hersman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Barker and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, were in critical but stable condition at a burn center in Augusta, Ga., on Saturday afternoon, hospital spokeswoman Beth Frits said. Augusta is about 75 miles southwest of Columbia.

Two other passengers — Chris Baker, 29, of Studio City, Calif., and Charles Still, 25, of Los Angeles — died, as did pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, Calif., and co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, Calif., according to the county coroner. Baker was an assistant to Barker and Still was a security guard for the musician.

The plane was headed for Van Nuys, Calif. It is owned by Global Exec Aviation, a California-based charter company, and was certified to operate last year, Hersman said. The company expressed its condolences in a statement and said it was working with investigators to determine the cause of the crash.

At the crash site Saturday, the air was still heavy with the odor of jet fuel. A trail of black soot led off a runway. The nose of the aircraft was gone and the roof was missing from two-thirds of the charred plane.

Hersman said officials recovered the cockpit voice recorder Saturday but had yet to analyze it or determine whether the recording was in good condition. She said the weather was clear when the plane took off, but said no factors had been ruled out.

"We're working as fast as we can to document all the evidence," Hersman said. "We have not yet found anything but we are looking at everything."

Barker and Goldstein had performed together under the name TRVSDJ-AM at a free concert in Columbia on Friday night. Event sponsor T-Mobile said their hourlong set ended at about 7:15 p.m.

The show, which included performances by former Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell and singer Gavin DeGraw, drew 10,000 people into the streets of Five Points, the neighborhood near the University of South Carolina, Coble said.

Peter Kastis, Farrell's manager, said he and Farrell didn't find out about the crash until they arrived at the airport Saturday morning to find it closed.

"I just hugged them hello less than 24 hours ago. I wish I could hug them now," Kastis said.

Columbia's airport stayed closed Saturday and spokeswoman Lynne Douglas said she was unsure when it would reopen.

A longtime friend of Bland, the co-pilot, said he flew anti-smuggling missions 20 years for the U.S. Customs Service and also flew missions for the Santa Ana Police Department and U.S. Border Patrol.

"He was such an experienced pilot, it had to be something beyond their control," said Tim Ferrill, a Huntington Beach, Calif., pilot. "He was an absolutely meticulous pilot, very thorough and not a risk-taker at all."

Bland was survived by his wife and teenage daughter, Ferrill said.

On Saturday afternoon, several people gathered where the musicians performed the night before. Some of Barker's fans said they felt drawn to the spot.

"I hope to God things turn out OK and he gets better. He's a real good guy," said Dustin Haycraft, 23, of Columbia, who sports two tattoos modeled on T-shirts the musician designed.

Barker, 32, was one of the more colorful members of the multiplatinum-selling punk rock band Blink-182, whose biggest album was 1999's CD "Enema of the State" and sold more than 5 million copies in the United States alone.

After Blink-182 disbanded in 2005, Barker went on to form the rock band (+44) — pronounced "plus forty-four." He also starred in the MTV reality series "Meet the Barkers" with his then-wife, former Miss USA Shanna Moakler. The show documented the former couple's lavish wedding and private life. Their later split, reconciliation and subsequent breakup made them tabloid favorites.

Goldstein, 35, is a popular DJ for hire who at one time was engaged to Nicole Richie.

He has spun a mix of hip-hop and dance beats for the hottest nightclubs and had a string of dates set up for the next few weeks. He reached the peak of his celebrity perhaps during his highly publicized romance with Richie a few years ago.

DJ AM also dated singer/actress Mandy Moore, and while he became a gossip favorite for his romances, he drew respect from music aficionados for his DJ skills.

Barker and Goldstein performed as part of the house band at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this month.

London - Though Vivienne Westwood billed this season as her top line taking on a "more exotic and adventurous spirit," the Red Label collection she showed Thursday, Sept. 18, was the most commercial she's shown in years.

Before 1,500 fans, the biggest fashion audience of the London season, Westwood served up a fluid, femininely saucily series of clothes, far removed with the dominant trends in London, prehistoricism and revamped Eighties futurism.

If anything, Westwood's soft, "flou" ruffled trimmed looks recalled Fifties Britain when a newly sexily audacious woman was finally beginning to feel free to flaunt it while she had it. And flaunt it they did in this show, which featured one model in a gold pants striding bare-chested down the massive anthracite colored catwalk in Earl's Court.

What was coolest about this collection is that where Westwood's clothes can drift into over-ripe historicism, this was a collection that seemed fresh, contemporary and very easy to wear. Using a fabric choice that emphasized weightlessness – silk satins, washed cottons and printed viscose – and cutting her silhouette close to the body.

Though the collection underlined a new sexy approach - Vivienne even sent out conical bras - the mood had a certain nostalgia for a more innocent, playful Britain.

Westwood put a manifesto in her program, entitled to "Active Resistance to Propaganda," calling on people to become more cultivated and, "not be victims of our own cleverness."

But anyone who thinks that Vivienne is some poor agitprop leftie, her business, let's recall, is a substantial commercial success. This reigning duchess of UK fashion now boasts 120 boutiques worldwide, over a dozen of them in China, a hit fragrance business and annual sales of 180 million euros, or $255 million.

NEW YORK - Katie Holmes knows how to draw a crowd — including anti-Scientology demonstrators.

Nearly 100 people lined up outside the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre Thursday night an hour before Holmes acted on Broadway for the first time in a preview performance for "All My Sons."

Not in the line: roughly 30 Scientology protesters who stood behind a barricade and loudly chanted "Scientology kills!" Some wore masks like in the movie "V for Vendetta," and one poster read: "FREE KATIE."

Moments before the curtain went up, Holmes' husband — and Hollywood's most famous Scientologist — Tom Cruise entered the theater, where he mingled and shook hands with some other theatergoers who took photos and clapped. He then hugged Dustin Hoffman, who was sitting a couple rows away, which drew another cheer inside the theater.

Amid the hubbub, it took awhile for people to take their seats.

Melissa Doyle tried to ignore the ruckus. She said she took her spot in line early, and saw Holmes rush into the theater wearing skinny jeans, a black blazer and oversized sunglasses.

"I love Katie Holmes," the 27-year-old New Yorker said. "I think she's a great actress and right now, I really love her for her fashion, her style! I think she really kind of differentiates herself among young Hollywood. Plus, she's a mom — and I just think she's a really good role model."

Meanwhile, 27-year-old Alistair Savides, visiting from St. Louis, said he wasn't there to see Holmes. He said he's a fan of Arthur Miller's drama, which first played on Broadway in 1947.

"I don't really care about who's performing as long as they're good at what they do and it's a good play," Savides said.

As protesters' chants grew louder, Savides called it "surreal to be right in the middle of this thing. But, you know, there's always two sides to every story and they just really strongly believe in one side of the story. ... If it adds to public debate, maybe that's a good thing."

Cruise's membership in the Church of Scientology has made him a controversial target of criticism. And last year, Jada Pinkett Smith felt compelled to deny her good friend Holmes is a prisoner in her marriage to Cruise, who's been depicted by the tabloids as a controlling husband.

"All My Sons" concerns businessman Joe Keller (John Lithgow) whose factory supplied defective cylinder parts to the military, resulting in the deaths of 21 pilots during World War II. Yet it was his business partner who went to jail for the mistake.

Dianne Wiest plays Keller's wife; Patrick Wilson his idealistic son; and Holmes the son's fiancee and daughter of Keller's disgraced partner.

The play officially opens Oct. 16.

LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears' trial for driving without a valid California license is all set for next month — and the attorney representing her in the criminal matter isn't happy about it.

J. Michael Flanagan, the pop singer's attorney, said the matter is going before a jury due to unfavorable "special treatment" by prosecutors and a judge. Because the violation is a misdemeanor, Spears is not required to attend the trial.

A judge rejected Flanagan's attempts Thursday to get the case reduced or the charge dismissed.

Flanagan has repeatedly argued that the singer is being treated more harshly than other people who have been caught driving without a valid California license. He said under normal circumstances, Spears should be allowed to pay a $10 fine and not face criminal prosecution.

He said Thursday that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James A. Steele cited Spears' celebrity status during an in-chambers meeting as a reason for not reducing the case to an infraction.

"He says, 'But I've never done that before. I'd hate to do it the first time and do it for Britney Spears because then it would appear like she's getting special treatment,'" Flanagan recounted Steele telling him.

Steele said through a clerk that he could not comment on the conference in his chambers. A court reporter was not present for the meeting. Flanagan said he will appeal a previous ruling by the judge denying Spears' motion to dismiss the case.

If the case begins as scheduled on Oct. 15, Flanagan said he doesn't plan to present any witnesses or do anything more than make opening and closing arguments to jurors.

"I'm just going to sit there," he said. If Spears is convicted, he said he will appeal that judgment.

The charge is the last remnants of a criminal case city prosecutors lodged against Spears after she hit a parked car in August 2007 and left without notifying the owner. She was originally also charged with hit-and-run, but Spears settled that charge through an agreement with the other car's owner.

Steele is not the only one Flanagan accused of treating Spears, 26, unfairly. On Thursday he said Michael Amerian, a city prosecutor handling the case, is trying to use the matter to boost his own profile because he running to become City Attorney.

"I am right on this issue and I'm not going to bow down to this guy because he's running for City Attorney," Flanagan said.

Amerian vehemently denied Flanagan's contention.

"We're treating her fairly in light of the facts in this case," Amerian said. He said he has never mentioned his bid for elected office when discussing Spears' case. He said prosecutors have been consistent on how they've handled the case since it was filed last summer.

"We're trying to treat her as we have anyone else who's been charged with a hit-and-run as well as driving without a valid license," Amerian said.

Flanagan said prosecutors have gone to unusual lengths to try to keep the case alive, including citing Spears' divorce from ex-husband Kevin Federline. Flanagan said prosecutors noted that when Spears filed for divorce in November 2006, she had to certify she had been a California resident for at least six months.

The criminal case was filed in August 2007.

Drivers are supposed to get a California license within 10 days of establishing residency in the state. But Flanagan said Spears had a valid license in Louisiana, which is one of several states where the singer has homes.

The case has been repeatedly postponed since Spears was placed under the conservatorship of her father, James, in February. That arrangement means that he controls the singer's personal and financial affairs and was a result of several high-profile incidents of erratic behavior, including two hospitalizations.

SEATTLE - TV viewers can return to their favorite programs without fear of seeing Bill Gates shaking his tushie now that Microsoft Corp. has retired a bizarre two-week-old ad campaign featuring the software giant's chairman with comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

Bloggers and online media have suggested that the Redmond, Wash.-based company yanked the Seinfeld ads after they were poorly received. The ads show Gates and Seinfeld trading banter at a mall shoe store and while living with a suburban family, trying to get in touch with regular people. Seinfeld asks Gates nonsensical questions about the future of computing, and Gates responds with "signs" that he's on the right track, including "adjusting his shorts," as Seinfeld called the awkward hip shake, and doing "the robot," a dance move.

However, a senior vice president in Microsoft's central marketing group, Mich Mathews, contended in an interview Thursday that it was always the plan to replace the Seinfeld-Gates ads with ones that focus on Windows.

"The notion that we're doing some quick thing to cancel (the Seinfeld ads) is actually preposterous," Mathews said. "Today was always the day. ... Media buying is something you have to do months in advance."

Mathews described the three Seinfeld spots as ice breakers with a limited shelf life, designed to grab people's attention in a tongue-in-cheek way without the pressure of having to talk about the product.

"We wanted to be sure that when we do come out with our major message, today, `Life Without Walls,' more people would be paying attention than they would otherwise," Mathews said. "My goodness, did we do that."

The Windows-focused campaign attempts to turn Apple's "I'm a Mac" ads on their head. A new TV ad set to debut during "The Office" on NBC Thursday evening begins with a Microsoft engineer who looks like the PC character in Apple's ads saying "Hello, I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype." He's followed by a montage of real-life PC users, celebrities and Microsoft Windows engineers who all repeat the "I'm a PC" mantra.

Microsoft also has ads queued up for print, Web and public spaces that focus on the way Windows, Windows Mobile, Microsoft's Live services and its TV platform connect.

The $300 million campaign was designed by ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Microsoft said the company is "exploring options" with Seinfeld for new ads, but that no ads beyond the three that aired have been filmed so far.

"Sex and the City"

Carrie and her gal pals make a triumphant return as they leap from the small screen to theaters and settle into monogamous ways after years of bed-hopping on the TV show. The movie update reunites Sarah Jessica Parker as writer Carrie with her buddies Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, the foursome joined by old associates including Chris Noth as Carrie's man Big and new co-stars, among them Jennifer Hudson. Two-disc DVD and Blu-ray sets have an extended cut of the movie, plus deleted scenes, a segment on the film's fashion sense and chats with Parker and writer-director Michael Patrick King. The theatrical version of the movie is available in a single-disc DVD release. The two-disc DVD and Blu-ray sets also have a digital copy of the theatrical version for portable video players. Single-disc DVD, $28.98; two-disc DVD set, $34.99; two-disc Blu-ray set, $35.99. (Warner Bros.)

NEW YORK - In his first interview since being acquitted of child pornography charges, R. Kelly dismissed allegations that he ever preyed on young girls, telling BET News: "I don't like anyone illegal."

Kelly also said he was relieved when the trial was over, and that his upcoming album would feature less of the sexually charged material that has come to define his multiplatinum career.

"I'm really trying to make this album ... a little bit different," he said in an interview that aired on the network on Tuesday. "Take a little bit of the edge off, you know? And you know, clean up a few lyrics if I can, you know?"

Kelly, 40, was acquitted in Chicago in June of multiple child pornography charges. The verdict ended a six-year saga that began when a videotape surfaced of a man looking like Kelly having sex with a girl believed to be as young as 13. Kelly denied he was the man in the videotape, and the girl in the video never testified.

Kelly spoke to BET's Toure for about a half-hour last week. Though the interview did not specifically address the child pornography charges, Kelly was asked about the perception that he is attracted to young girls (Kelly was married to the late singer Aaliyah when she was 15, but the marriage was quickly annulled).

When asked if he liked teenage girls, Kelly replied: "When you say teenage, how — how old are we talkin' ... 19?"

"I have some 19-year-old friends," he added. "But I don't like anybody illegal, if that's what we're talking about, underage."

Kelly said he was worried that he might be convicted.

"But at the same time I was very prayerful," he said. "Verdict day ... I couldn't describe it and I wouldn't wish it on — if I had a worst enemy, which I don't."

When the innocent verdicts were announced, Kelly said he felt relieved that he would be able to see his three children — two daughters and a son — once again.

"I couldn't wait to get home to hug them and hold them," he said.

Despite the charges Kelly faced, he still managed to maintain one of the most successful careers of any artist, notching several platinum albums and hits during that period. His new album, "12 Play 4th Quarter," is scheduled for the fall.

NEW YORK - The red carpet at the 60th Emmy Awards on Sunday will surely be a parade of beautiful people wearing beautiful things — the faux pas of years past are out.

These days, designers use the carpet as a second runway and stylists keep their clients picture perfect. Still, armchair fashion critics want to have their say, even if it's only to say how great everyone looks.

Here are some buzz-worthy candidates to keep an eye on:

_Tina Fey

She was already the toast of the town with 17 nominations for "30 Rock," including her own nomination as best actress in a comedy — a prize she won last year.

Her return to "Saturday Night Live" was the watercooler talk of the week. What brought her back to "SNL" is her uncanny resemblance to GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Will she play that up or down?

"I think she'll try to look as far away from Sarah Palin as she can — that is, if she doesn't want to be asked to do the same imitation for every camera," says "Access Hollywood" supervising producer Ryan Patterson.

Fey often wears black to events and leaves her glasses at home, but the updo she wore last year might invite Palin comparisons.

"I think she might be forced to go in another direction," Ryan says. "I'm hoping to see her in something sleek and sexy with her hair sleek, too."

However, anything too trendy or fashion-forward wouldn't match her personality, notes Gretta Monahan, the new co-host on "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style." "My advice would be to see her play up her classic, pretty beauty. ... I'd say don't be the geek, be the beauty."

_Heidi Klum

Klum, one of the ceremony's co-hosts, won't have one stunning look on Sunday, she'll have eight, starting with an all-over sparkler by Armani Prive.

Each of the supermodel's outfits were carefully thought out, says Klum's stylist Maryam Malakpour. "The whole concept is more than just a celebrity changing clothes, we wanted every time you see her to say, `Wow!'"

Klum is working with Michael Kors, John Galliano for Dior, Valentino, Roland Mouret and "Project Runway" alum Christian Siriano have all provided looks, as well as one vintage choice. "An off-the-runway look might overwhelm someone else but she can pull that off because she's a model," Malakpour says.

It doesn't hurt that there's very few things that don't look good on her and that Klum treats the red carpet like just another catwalk, which she struts with confidence.

The one thing Klum doesn't wear is anything too trendy, Monahan says. "Whatever is trendy right now, you can assume Heidi is a step ahead."

_Christina Applegate

This is Applegate's first splashy fashion event since undergoing a double mastectomy, and while it's unlikely that anyone would criticize whatever she wears, "Access Hollywood's" Patterson has high expectations.

"She's young, flirty, fresh — I'm really excited to see what she does," Patterson says. "She always looks good."

Applegate has grown up in front of the cameras and so has her style. She doesn't dress too maturely for a 36-year-old but she also knows not to dress like a teenager.

"This is the Emmys, it's not the VMAs (MTV's Video Music Awards). She's not going to show up in thigh-high boots, a miniskirt or show a lot of cleavage. She will be classic and glamorous."

Applegate has taken to wearing her hair up to black-tie events and choosing retro gowns, including a beaded Art Deco-inspired look to the Screen Actors Guild Awards and a slinky siren number to last year's Tonys.

_The women of "Mad Men"

The old-school style that January Jones, Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss, among others, bring to the 1960s-era drama hasn't been lost on the fashion world. Several designers and tastemakers have said they've been influenced by the show's costumes that marry a buttoned-up style with straight-up sex appeal.

You'd never catch these women in yoga pants or even jeans.

Monahan says she hopes the stars stick to that overall aesthetic.

"They shouldn't be in costumes but I'd like to see them in a modern take on their characters," she says. "I want to see that glamour — it's refreshing. ... Maybe next year they could wear something crazy, but this year I want to see them do what they do best."

Patterson, though, thinks this could be the time for the actresses to give the audience a glimpse of who they really are.

"They might go the opposite way and get out of the clothes they seem to wear 24/7. It's a chance for them not to be typecast and to offer some personal expression."

LOS ANGELES - Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to fight California's November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

It's the first time voters will be asked to ban same-sex marriage in a state where gay couples already have won the right to wed. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts and California.

It's the first time voters will be asked to decide the issue in either California or Massachusetts — the states where gays have won the right to wed.

"Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8," Pitt said Wednesday.

Trevor Neilson, Pitt's political and philanthropic adviser, told The Associated Press that Pitt was surprised that his colleagues in the entertainment industry had not donated more money to support the battle against Proposition 8.

Earlier in the week, Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced they donated $2 million to help fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Hank Williams Jr. will be honored as an icon at this year's BMI award

The honor puts Williams in elite company. Past honorees include Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, James Brown, the Bee Gees, Isaac Hayes and Steve Winwood.

Williams, who was nicknamed "Bocephus" by his legendary father Hank Williams Sr., is known for a long string of hit songs that include "Family Tradition," "Country Boy Can Survive" and "All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down."

Six of his albums went platinum, and 20 were certified gold.

Williams, 59, reached an even wider audience with the "Monday Night Football" theme, which he wrote and performed.

Broadcast Music Inc., a performing rights organization, will hold its annual country awards Nov. 11 in Nashville.

SHAFTER, Calif. - Thomas Jane has pleaded no contest to drunken driving after he was clocked doing 120 mph in a Maserati.
The star of last year's movie "The Mist" and 2004's "The Punisher" pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. Jane wasn't in the Shafter courtroom but made the plea through his lawyer.

Jane, who's married to Emmy-winning "Medium" star Patricia Arquette, was sentenced to a year of probation, $1,700 in fines and must take alcohol abuse classes.

Two other alcohol and drug charges and two speeding tickets were dismissed.

Police stopped the 39-year-old actor twice on Interstate 5 in Kern County last March for speeding. After a third stop, he was arrested for drunken driving.

CLEVELAND - Online auctions benefiting Superman's birthplace have been more powerful than a locomotive.

The sales on eBay are only half-done and already have surpassed their goal of raising $50,000 to fix up the boyhood home of Jerry Siegel. It's where he and Joe Shuster came up with the Man of Steel during the 1930s.

When the second of four auctions of original art and other items wrapped up Tuesday, more than $53,000 had been raised. The auctions continue through Sept. 30.

The proceeds will be used to replace the roof and redo the exterior on the former Siegel family home on Cleveland's East Side. Organizers say money beyond the original goal will be set aside for repairs inside and for future work.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hard rock band Metallica, hoping for a rebound in its fortunes after a difficult decade, has topped pop charts around the world with its first album in five years, its Warner Bros. Records label said on Wednesday.

"Death Magnetic," which was released worldwide last Friday, went to No. 1 in the United States and Britain, as well as such countries as Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and drummer Lars Ulrich's native Denmark.

Warner Bros. said it expected more No. 1 rankings as charts in other countries are finalized. The Warner Music Group Corp unit handles Metallica in the United States and Canada, while Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group has international rights.

In the United States, "Death Magnetic" sold almost 490,000 copies in the week ended September 14, despite being on sale for only three of those days. Albums are usually released on a Tuesday in the United States and a day earlier everywhere else. But Metallica opted for a Friday street date to make the release a global event.

Its last album, 2003's "St. Anger," released a few days ahead of schedule to combat music piracy, kicked off at No. 1 with 418,000 copies. It was ultimately considered a commercial and critical disappointment, coming on the heels of singer/guitarist James Hetfield's lengthy rehab stint, the departure of bass player Jason Newsted, and a fan backlash against Ulrich's loud condemnations of music piracy. The band's near demise during this period is immortalized in the documentary "Some Kind of Monster."

"Death Magnetic" ranks as one of the biggest chart-toppers of the year in the United States. Only albums by rapper Lil Wayne, British rock band Coldplay and teen idols the Jonas Brothers have done better. It also makes Metallica the only band in chart history to have five albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, according to Warner Bros. They were previously tied with the Beatles, U2 and the Dave Matthews Band.

Metallica will begin the first leg of a North American tour near Phoenix, Ariz., on October 21.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman)

London - If one took a straw poll of which show mattered most and managed to create the clearest fashion moment in London this season then it would have to be the stylish romp, 1930's glam and Grand Guignol theatre that was Giles Deacon's runway bash Tuesday evening.
Though highly directional, the show contained enough wearable clothes to indicate that the 39-year-old "enfant terrible" of UK fashion may also be growing up. Saying a show where a half dozen models wore space age plastic bowls on their heads was commercial might seem absurd, but Deacon's snazzy cocktails, naughty secretary skirts and glove like leather mini-bombers were all strong at-the-cash register looks.

Deacon also varied his silhouette, opening with the high-waist and to-the-knee skirt that is dominating London runways, albeit in white plasticized cotton.

Giles also remains the best print maker in Britain, as his demi-abstract Friesian blotch dresses and black and white ring patterns underlined. Adding to the excitement were some great galactic chic high heels with Lucite-like straps, and wacky Darth Vader helmets.

But our favorite moment had to be the mono-color series half-way through the show.

Call it conceptual glam.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Paris Hilton launched a television show to look for a new best friend who was hot, loyal and "paparazzi-ready" -- and she says she found exactly what she was looking for.

Hilton, 27, the millionaire socialite, said some 300,000 Americans applied to take part in the reality series "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" (Best Friend Forever), which begins airing on September 30 on MTV.

The 16 women and two men selected to compete had to perform a series of challenges to be Hilton's new BFF, including how to look hot on a rollercoaster and making a commercial for one of her fashion products. She has now picked a winner with whom she said she has struck up a real, off-screen friendship.

"The person who won is now my best friend. We hang out. Yeah, we're really friends," Hilton told Reuters on Tuesday.

"We've been having barbecues and hanging out at the house. The winner and I have been pretty low-key so far, because it is top secret right now," she said.

Hilton said the TV show prepared the contestants for life in Hollywood and hectic red carpet events, parties, and product launches -- all under the constant glare of photographers.

"In my life you can get photographed at any time. You never know when paparazzi are going to be hiding around the corner. So my friend needs to be paparazzi-ready," she said.

In her real-life friendships, Hilton says she values trust more than looking hot and says it was fun to meet people on the show who were not as jaded as the usual Hollywood crowd.

"They (the contestants) were so excited. We went on a private jet to Las Vegas and they had never been on a private plane. It was nice to really show them things they maybe never could do in their life. They were really appreciative and so sweet," Hilton said.

As for her own qualities as a friend, Hilton said she was loyal, good at keeping secrets, truthful and generous.

"I will always tell you the truth. If you ask me if I like your outfit, if I don't, I'll say I don't. I'm a lot of fun. I love showing my friends my world and enjoying life," she said.

Hilton starts filming a second series of the show, this time set in England, next month and expects her new "friends" to be very different.

"London is my favorite city in the world. I love their accents, their attitude. They are so real, they are not fake. I feel that everyone in LA wants to be famous but in London it's more about business."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

NEW YORK - A memoir by Serena Williams will be released in 2009 by Grand Central Publishing, which beat out a handful of other publishers bidding for the life story of the No. 1 ranked women's tennis player.


"Serena Williams is one of the world's most remarkable athletes," Grand Central editor Karen Kosztolnyik said Tuesday in a statement. "We've watched her rise to No. 1 despite physical and emotional setbacks, and her hard work and determination have inspired legions of fans young and old. Serena will give her memoir a strong motivational slant."

Financial terms for the book, currently untitled, were not disclosed, although a publishing official with knowledge of the negotiations said bidding reached at least $1.3 million. The official, citing the confidentiality of the negotiations, declined to be identified.

Williams, 26, has won nine Grand Slam titles and, with sister Venus Williams, won a gold medal in women's doubles at the recent Olympics in Beijing.

Grand Central Publishing is a division of the Hachette Book Group.

Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Sept. 8-14. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.

1. (7) "Sunday Night Football" (Pittsburgh at Cleveland), NBC, 17.83 million viewers.

2. (29) "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 13.56 million viewers.

3. (20) "60 Minutes," CBS, 12.54 million viewers.

4. (139) "Saturday Night Football" (Ohio State at USC), ABC, 11.94 million viewers.

5. (29) "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday), NBC, 11.70 million viewers.

6. (14) "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday), NBC, 11.61 million viewers.

7. (65) "Football Night in America," NBC, 10.85 million viewers.

8. (X) "America's Got Talent" (Thursday), NBC, 9.83 million viewers.

9. (20) "Deal or No Deal," NBC, 9.65 million viewers.

10. (16) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 9.18 million viewers.

11. (57) "Bones," Fox, 9.15 million viewers.

12. (X) "Fringe," Fox, 9.13 million viewers.

13. (10) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 9.04 million viewers.

14. (82) "Flashpoint," CBS, 8.68 million viewers.

15. (25) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 8.37 million viewers.

16. (126) "20/20" (Friday), ABC, 8.07 million viewers.

17. (210) "Saturday Night Football Pre-Game," ABC, 7.86 million viewers.

18. (110) "Big Brother 10" (Thursday), CBS, 7.82 million viewers.

19. (38) "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC, 7.61 million viewers.

20. (102) "America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC, 7.51 million viewers.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Stargazers seeking an up-close glimpse of Hollywood's royalty can win seats on Oscar night along the red carpet.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that 300 bleacher seats will be up for grabs in an online lottery.

Beginning at 9 a.m. PDT Monday, movie buffs can enter for a chance to win a seat in front of the Kodak Theater for the Oscars scheduled for Feb. 22. The lottery runs through 9 p.m. Sept. 28.

Applicants can register for up to four seats at http://www.oscars.org/bleachers.

In previous years, as many as 20,000 fans have applied online for the bleacher seats.

NEW YORK - After 15 years without a new album in the U.S., Tom Jones will release a disc of almost entirely original material this fall.

The 68-year-old singer will release "24 Hours" on Nov. 25 on S-Curve Records. It's a retro-tinged album much in the style of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" that finds the Welshman's voice as strong as ever.

"The fire is still in me," Jones told The Associated Press in a recent interview, speaking by phone from his home in Los Angeles. "Not to be an oldie, but a goodie. I want to be a contender."

The disc was produced by British production duo Future Cat, who have cut tracks for Lily Allen, Kate Nash and others. With backing horns and an almost Stax Records kind of soul, the sound is distinctly retro.

"We've been thinking about this for a while, doing a retro sound but new," said Jones. "And Amy Winehouse, she cracked it. When that album came out, my son called me right away and said, `You know what we've been talking about? Listen to this.'"

Since he released the hit "It's Not Unusual" in 1965, Jones has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. While his 2000 album "Reload" was a hit in Europe and elsewhere (buoyed by the club hit "Sex Bomb"), it was never released in the U.S. — which Jones calls "a shame."

"The hits that I've had recently have all been European," he said. "I've had a lot of success worldwide, which is a pain because I live here and I do most of my shows in America. ... Hopefully this will straighten that out."

Jones, who regularly performs in Las Vegas, believes his voice hasn't aged — thanks partly to his careful treatment of it; he takes a humidifier with him traveling to keep his throat from drying. Jones even believes his lower registers have gotten richer.

"I wanted my voice to sound as natural as possible," Jones said of the album. "The arrangements and the production needs to be modern, but the vocal needs to sound like me."

There are two covers on the album — Bruce Springsteen's "The Hitter" and "I'm Alive" by Tommy James and the Shondells — but the rest Jones either co-wrote or collaborated with the songwriters. Bono and the Edge of U2 guest on the song "Sugar Daddy."

"I love doing the songs that I've had success with and the audience keeps those alive," Jones said. "But I love moving on."

London - Monday marked a fine return to form by Julien Macdonald, as the Welsh designer staged a thoroughly chic spring 2009 collection on the second day of action in London Fashion Week.
Staged in the gilded neo classical opulence of Lancaster House, the collection showed Macdonald at his most stylistically understated, albeit with a gentle soupcon of high wattage slinkiness.

It opened with considerable panache, with a series of beige and sand looks - crisp cocktail dresses, sleek tops and high-waist jodhpur-harem pants that had poise and polish.

Macdonald stepped up the oomph factor with cool waistcoats erratically studded with crystals and then hit a home run with sexy columns, slit up almost to the crotch, and covered in mirrored Art Deco patterns.

Where in other seasons the designer's natural exuberance tended to get the better of him, laying it on too thick in terms of decoration and finish, this season marked a new, mature Macdonald, one who built some needed restraint into his oeuvre.

There was a particularly good middle section with snug snakeskin jackets with sexy rouched dresses and skirts that recalled to mind Macdonald's famous soubriquet as the Welsh Versace. Well, this collection was so assured and wearable and still sexy that one could imagine the late Gianni applauding it heartily. It was that good.

GONAIVES, Haiti - Cries of adulation — and hunger — followed Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean and actor Matt Damon as they toured flood-ravaged Gonaives on Sunday to call attention to widespread suffering in the marooned city.

Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike submerged the Haitian city and cut off roadways. Where waters have receded, streets remain a stinking mud bath and homes are carpeted with muck and encrusted pots, pans and laundry.

"I'm speechless, I can't believe it," said Damon, looking down from a U.N. helicopter at people living on the rooftops of flooded homes.

The four-hour visit passed in a blur of stenches, colors and noise. A man on a bicycle tried to keep up with Damon and Jean's truck, shouting, "I love you, Wyclef." Jean raised his hand, but couldn't smile back.

"It's inhumane. I wish there was a word in the dictionary. No human should be living like this," said Jean, who became famous through his Grammy-winning band, The Fugees, and later emerged as a solo artist.

As they turned onto the flooded Rue Christophe, another pickup packed with women sloshed within arm's reach. Face-to-face with the celebrities, the women cried, "We're hungry!" A young man calf-deep in water raised both arms and shouted, "Fix our roads. Fix our city!"

Damon and Jean encouraged help for the United Nations to raise more than US$100 million for 800,000 Haitians in need after four tropical storms and hurricanes have struck the country since mid-August.

Jean's Yele Haiti charity is helping the World Food Program and the Organization of American States-affiliated Pan American Development Foundation distribute food to 3,000 families. The convoy visited a school shelter Sunday to hand out cooking oil and bags of beans.

Proud and tumultuous Gonaives is where Haiti declared independence from France in 1804 as the world's first black republic. Bloody 1985 protests led to the downfall of the father-son Duvalier dictatorship and in 2004 a deadly march fomented the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Fears that unrest is simmering here has led U.N. officials to distribute food at night under Argentine soldiers' guard. Haitian officials have discussed building new settlements for vulnerable residents above the current city.

Once emergency aid started arriving four days after the storm, the U.N. agencies began ratcheting up food distributions to reach as many as 12,000 people a day. More than 120,000 people are in shelters in the Artibonite region, which includes Gonaives, desperate for water and food, the Haitian government reported.

Damon and Jean waded through knee-deep floodwaters and climbed a stage outside the Gonaives cathedral, where 500 people have taken refuge in the choir gallery.

The pair did not go into the cathedral, but Jean sang for a few minutes to a crowd outside. When he later tried to leave, people swept him into the streets. Admirers, some asking for money, clung to U.N. trucks as they drove away.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Start your engines!

Sources tell E! News that Britney Spears threw her boys, Sean Preston and Jayden James, a joint truck-themed birthday party on Saturday. Sister Jamie Lynn and her 2-month-old daughter, Maddie, were in attendance along with approximately 50 other guests.

Saturday was Sean Preston's actual 3rd birthday; Jayden turned 2 on Friday.

The birthday boys and their little friends drove around in mini toy cars with personalized license plates. Britney was dressed casually in jeans and a green top, and was spotted watching the kids enjoying their new rides.

The party started at 2 p.m. at the Beverly Hills home of Dr. 90210 plastic surgeon Paul Nassif and Adrienne Maloof, sister of Brit's good friends Phil and George Maloof, owners of the Palms Casino. The mansion is situated in the gated community of Beverly Park.

—Additional reporting by Jeanifer Hwang

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - With a little help from Tina Fey doubling as Sarah Palin and from guest host Michael Phelps, "Saturday Night Live" logged its best season premiere since 2001.

t was also the most-watched "SNL" for any date since December 17, 2002, when former vice president Al Gore was the guest host and jam band Phish was the musical guest.

"SNL" averaged a 7.4 household rating/18 share in the top 55 "metered" markets, Nielsen Media Research said Sunday. Saturday's program was up 64 percent compared to last year's season premiere on September 29. The top market was Baltimore, the hometown of Olympics hero Phelps.

Final ratings will be out Thursday.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hollywood is challenging the hegemony of Apple in digital distribution. A consortium of major studios -- excluding key Apple ally Walt Disney Co. -- is teaming up with leading retailers and consumer-electronics firms to essentially transform the paid download into an experience akin to buying a DVD. The goal is letting video purchased at any outlet be played on any device worldwide.


Known as the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), the consortium brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment, Fox Entertainment Group, NBC Universal, Sony, Paramount Pictures and Comcast Corp. with retailer Best Buy along with tech giants Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Philips, Toshiba and Verisign. Each company has an invested an unspecified sum in the endeavor.

"When we start to bundle these digital rights together, we believe we can actually develop and deliver a product to the consumer that's better than free," said Mitch Singer, chief technology officer at Sony Pictures and the lead architect of

DECE.

All together, they are mounting what may be the most radical redefinition yet of digital rights management. In its current form, DRM largely confines content to a limited number of devices depending on the source of that content. For instance, a song purchased on Apple's iTunes can be accessed on no more than five different computers and can't be legally played on a portable device beyond the iPod.

If DECE takes hold, it would institute several precedent-setting principles:

-- Participating devices and services will be interoperable regardless of differing brands or corporate provenance. A TV episode, for instance, could be just as easily accessed on Microsoft's Zune as it would a Philips broadband-enabled TV set.

-- DECE would allow an unlimited number of copies of a video to be created or burned onto a disc.

-- The consumer would even have the option of not storing the copy at all, but rather streaming it from a server-based "rights locker" that can be tapped from any location.

-- DECE would create open standards whereby any company that chose to create contents or services can do so to available specifications.

Freeing up digital content would also offer a marked distinction from the rights offered by market leader Apple under its Fairplay system. Apple's dominance of the digital marketplace also affords it considerable leverage in licensing negotiations over many of the studios involved in DECE.

"While we haven't yet had conversations with them about joining, we'd love to have them," said Singer, who added that DECE has reached out to Disney. "We're going in a slightly different direction than Apple by offering more choice in terms of storefront and device."

Other prominent companies not named to DECE: CBS Corp., Amazon, Walmart and leading telcos such as AT&T and Verizon. While not every company that hasn't joined has even been approached yet, those that have aren't necessarily opposed to DECE, according to Singer.

"If I had to characterize it, it's more of a wait-and-see mode than something they don't want to be involved in," he said.

But DECE is aimed just as much at providing an alternative to piracy as it is competing with Apple. Rampant illegal downloading has long been seen as an outgrowth of today's fragmented digital marketplace, which stymies consumers by requiring content providers to tailor their product for each distributor.

DECE represents yet another ambitious attempt by Hollywood to avoid the fate of the music industry, which has largely dropped DRM altogether. The consortium aims to give digital distribution a shot in the arm. For all the success of iTunes, XBox and Amazon, their collective sales haven't matched the growth curve experienced by DVD.

DECE plans to announce a brand name and logo, as well as a more detailed plan, at the upcoming Consumers Electronics Show in January. It also expects to name more companies to the consortium in the coming months.

Singer said he has began developing DECE inside Sony Pictures six years ago, constantly changing the formulation to meet the latest technologies. Outreach to other companies started in 2006.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp's MySpace, the world's largest social networking site, said on Sunday its long-expected MySpace Music joint venture with three major music labels will launch with four major sponsors underwriting the costs of streaming free music to millions of MySpace users.

MySpace said McDonald's, Sony Pictures, Toyota and State Farm will power access to be to a range of new music services by sponsoring a mix of free downloads, song playlists, and personal music players.

"With MySpace Music integration, premium brands are offering our users and their customers new ways to discover, experience, and share music online and offline, said Jeff Berman, president of sales and marketing at MySpace."

MySpace first announced in April it will be forming a joint venture with Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.

The partners said the new venture would offer a range of streaming, downloads, videos, ticketing, merchandising and much else as it aimed to be a the ultimate one-stop for music fans.

At the time the MySpace Chief Executive Chris De Wolfe said the company was seeking a chief executive or president of MySpace Music to report to himself and the music labels.

But its start has so far been mired in uncertainty as it has failed to name a chief executive in time for the launch and has declined to confirm a launch date for the service, though it is now widely expected to launch later this week.

MySpace, which recently overtook Yahoo in numbers of display ads views according to comScore, sees music as an important part of its strategy to attract millions of users and to increase the amount of time they spend on the site -- thereby driving ad revenues.

While music has also been a strong feature on MySpace since it started with artist pages, most of the music has tended to be promotional in nature rather than offering opportunities for users to buy songs.

The music labels are keen for another major player to boost sales by driving competition to Apple Inc's iTunes digital music store, which is currently the No.1 music retailer in the U.S. and a leading retailer in several other countries.

MySpace Music is expected to launch with a song download service provided by Amazon.com but few other details of the new venture's attempt to be a comprehensive player have emerged.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke)

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters Life!) - London Fashion Week began on Sunday with a feminine flurry from some established British labels and a tongue-in-cheek take on the spring/summer 2009 season from some of the newer names.

The event has a reputation for championing cutting edge design and promoting young talent, such as Christopher Kane, Henry Holland and Giles Deacon, all of whom will show this week.

PPQ, headed by Amy Molyneaux and Percy Parker who list the letter "P" as among their inspirations, combined a space-age collection including jumpsuits with a humorous take on 1940s-style hats.

Designs reminiscent of an air stewardess' uniform with belted waists played alongside quirky oversized t-shirts worn as dresses and huge gold earrings in the shape of the letter "P."

British high street brand, Topshop unveiled its Unique collection - a high-end offshoot of the store's regular stock - and models wore large cloth Alice bands tied in bow ties, short sleeved jumpsuits and little black dresses.

Ossie Clarke made its second London Fashion Week appearance after a relaunch last season, and featured draping silk creations and large hand-painted patterns, marking a return to the label's 1970s heyday.

Named after the influential London designer who died in 1996, the collection, which is now led by designer Avsh Alom Gul, included georgette and organza silk in block colors described as "verdant green," "negligee nude" and "boudoir grey" and starred model-of-the-moment Jourdan Dunn.

In the next five days designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Julien Macdonald, Paul Smith, Luella Bartley and Giles Deacon will showcase their collections for next spring.

Caroline Charles, whose career spans 40 years, showed a feminine and sophisticated collection with monochrome skirt suits and dresses in fuchsia pink and delicate silk. She welcomed the broad range of styles at the London event.

"It's not a sort of tiny, tight little group like some cities, it's a really broad canvas of designers that we allow and promote and sometimes pay for to go on our catwalks and it makes London fizz," she added.

While credit crunch concerns have pressured consumer demand, participants are looking to cash-in on buyers from overseas, drawn to Britain by a weakening pound, which last week hit its lowest level against the dollar since April 2006.

"We've heard there are less U.S. buyers but designers are definitely seeing more emerging markets buyers. The markets that are not so hard hit by the credit crunch will be buying more," Laura Jackson, Assistant Fashion Editor at Drapers magazine said.

Charles said she had not yet felt the impact of the credit crunch in her sales but was keeping her "fingers crossed" ahead of 2009, when some analysts predict the British economy may experience a recession.

(Additional reporting by Cindy Martin; editing by Philippa Fletcher