Hoaxer, not Hilton, wrote Britney defense posting

LOS ANGELES - Socialite Paris Hilton fell victim to a hoaxer who wrote a widely publicized Web posting in her name defending the "partying ethics" of her new friend, singer Britney Spears, Hilton's spokesman said on Friday.

But spokesman Elliot Mintz said whoever wrote the entry this week on Hilton's page on the popular social networking site MySpace.com "crafted a very nice piece and the sentiments that were expressed were extremely articulate."

Mintz said the hotel heiress was a frequent target of impersonators on the Internet and no one knew who had written the blog entry.

The note defended Spears against criticism that she was neglecting her two young sons by embarking on a round of all-night clubbing.

Spears, 25, has been photographed -- sometimes without panties under her mini-skirts -- out on the town with Hilton since the pop star filed for divorce from Kevin Federline last month.

"Did she write that piece? No, she did not," Mintz said. "I have no idea who did."

"There are dozens and dozens of people that use the Web, that write things and post pictures and identify themselves as Paris. There are at least 80 of them. The Web is a bit like the Wild West -- somewhat uncontrollable," he told Reuters.

Mintz said Hilton had not so far taken any action against impersonators and acknowledged it was difficult for fans to know the difference between what was real and what was not.