Go girl: Britney Spears goes karting (with a balaclava and helmet that helpfully cover up those greasy locks)

Her driving record isn't exactly squeaky clean, but that didn't stop Britney Spears getting behind the wheel for a spin around a California go-kart track yesterday.

The singer first slipped on a balaclava - which conveniently covered her greasy-looking hair - then a bright orange helmet before putting her skills to the test on the 1000ft-long Dromo 1 track.

Britney has clocked up a series of traffic violations in recent years and will go on trial next month for driving without a valid licence.

But she still managed to win herself a trophy - although that might have been for the benefit of the camera crew, on hand to record the outing for her upcoming behind-the-scenes DVD, which is expected to be released along with her upcoming album Circus.

Britney has also revealed she plans to make her first international tour since 2004 to support the album.

In an interview on New York radio station Z100, Spears was asked if she planned to tour.

'Oh definitely, next year,' she said, adding the tour would probably take her 'around the world.'


That would mark her first major concert tour since 2004.

Last year, Britney performed in a handful of club shows in southern California under the name the M+M's but did not go on the road to promote her last album, Blackout, which had a good chart debut in November 2007 but faded quickly.

Her last live public performance was a much-ridiculed rendition of 'Gimme More at the MTV Video Music Awards a year ago.

The singer's latest single, Womanizer, was released on Friday and is the first single off Circus, which will be released on Dec. 2 - her 27th birthday. She told Z100 she spent six months working on the album.

Britney has been on the mend since her father took control of her business affairs in February.

She won three awards for her song Piece Of Me at this year's MTV video music awards.

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Amy Winehouse's Quincy tribute

Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson are reuniting to record a song.

The pair fell out when recording sessions for a proposed James Bond theme went sour - which resulted in Jack White and Alicia Keys providing the opening music to 'Quantum of Solace' - but have since settled their differences and are planning to record a track for a tribute album to Michael Jackson producer Quincy Jones.

A source said: "It's going to be explosive stuff. Amy first met Quincy backstage at the Nelson Mandela show in Hyde Park in June.
"He knew who she was and she was so thrilled to meet him. Her performance clearly impressed him - he was raving about her. This is just the opportunity she needs to show the world she has still got it."

Other stars rumoured to be appearing on the album include Mariah Carey, Usher and John Mayer.

Last week, Amy made a shambolic appearance at London's Berkeley Square Ball - an annual charity event in aid of The Prince's Trust.

She was attending the event to support her 12-year-old goddaughter Dionne, who was performing in a bid to launch her music career.
The troubled singer was supposed to sing backing vocals during Dionne's performance, but only managed to mumble a few words.

Later, she reportedly hit out at a fan who asked for an autograph.

She was heard sobbing: "This isn't a life - it's a mess. Life can't go on. I can't do this any more."

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Madonna's A-Rod dinner

Madonna and Alex Rodriguez were spotted enjoying dinner together earlier this week.

The singer and the baseball player - who were rumoured to be having an affair earlier this year - sat in "an alcove-like table" at the back of New York eatery Dos Caminos Third Avenue on Tuesday (30.09.08).

A source told Usmagazine.com: "They seemed very close."
While Madonna was initially blamed for Alex's divorce from wife Cynthia, the 50-year-old star has always denied the claims - insisting she is happy in her seven-year marriage with husband Guy Ritchie.

She said in a statement earlier this year: "My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce. I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us. I brought my kids to a Yankee game. I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez. I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage.

"I have learned over the years not to take accusations and the many false reports about me very seriously. I also appreciate how fiction and fact seem to be perceived as one and the same by people who read both newspapers and the internet."

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Kate's golden new look

KATE MOSS has been immortalised in a solid gold statue - in a beyond belief bendy yoga move.

The supermodel’s metal effigy, Siren, is worth a whopping £1.5million and shows Kate's body so contorted, it seemingly defies the natural limitations of human limbs.

Artist MARC QUINN’s work will on display at the British Museum’s Statuephilia exhibition in London from tomorrow.

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Bad hair day? Britney Spears hides her lank locks under a shawl

Britney Spears appeared unusually camera shy as she arrived at LAX airport yesterday.

Looking pale and tired, the 26-year-old singer left the airport with a white shawl draped over her long blonde locks. Perhaps was trying to cover her rather greasy-looking hair.

It was a far cry from how she had looked just the night before when she went to dinner at Soho House in New York, looking fantastic in an electric blue dress.


But if she was hoping the new shawl, by New York label Minnie Rose, would prevent her from being recognised she was sadly mistaken as she was greeted by a wall of photographers as she left the terminal. (We assume the shawl was new as the label is still on.)

It's no surprise really that Britney's looking a little bit pooped. She's been staying in New York since Sunday where she has been promoting her new single Womanizer.

While in the Big Apple, she also saw a Broadway show called The Heights, visited several stores and dropped into a school in The Bronx where she donated a $10,000 (£5,000) cheque to its music programme and signed autographs for delighted pupils.

Over the last few days, the mum-of-two looked healthy and groomed, especially on Wednesday night when she dined out at Soho House in a stunning blue dress.

But it all must have taken its toll because when she arrived at JFK on Thursday to catch her flight back home to LA she looked worn out.

No wonder she wanted to go undercover when she touched down at LAX.

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