Authentic Britney hair offered in online auction for $1 million

New York – Britney Spears’ lopped-off locks can be yours for just $1 million on eBay – direct from the salon owner whose clippers the shorn star used during her weekend meltdown.

Esther Tognozzi of Esther’s Haircutting Studio in Tarzana, Calif., is hawking the high-priced hairball – along with the pop princess’ leftover Red Bull energy drink and her blue Bic lighter.

“We still don’t know why Britney chose our shop. We’ll probably never know,” said the shop owner’s husband, J.T. Tognozzi.

He said some proceeds from the sale would go to charity, possibly including the Florida-based Locks of Love, which supplies wigs to kids with cancer.

The Tognozzis say the decadent diva’s thick pile of dark tresses and extensions – on sale until around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday – is the only authentic Spears hair on eBay, despite dozens of competing claims.

A quick search of “Britney Spears hair” turns up a slew of enterprising copycats, offering everything from a $3,000 lock of dark hair from a seller in Ohio to a $90,300 blond tuft – the wrong color.

Web site barred from showing Paris Hilton’s personal items

Los Angeles – A federal judge on Friday barred a Web site from peddling Paris Hilton’s racy photos, videos, diary entries and other personal items.

U.S. District Judge George King said he will issue a preliminary injunction prohibiting ParisExposed.com from displaying any of the items until a lawsuit Hilton brought against the site is resolved.

ParisExposed.com had promised subscribers glimpses of Hilton’s personal records and claimed to have video footage of the hotel heiress in a “sexy bubble bath” and shots of the 25-year-old in “racy situations.”

The judge effectively had shut down the Web site earlier this month when he issued a temporary order barring it from showing Hilton’s medical records, Social Security number, phone number or other personal information.

The site’s creator, identified as Bardia Persa, could not be located for comment. Persa does not have a Los Angeles telephone listing, and court records do not list any attorney representing Persa.

Hilton sued the Web site last month, accusing it of exploiting her private personal belongings for commercial gain.

She claimed that Persa had paid $10 million to buy personal items that were publicly auctioned after she failed to pay a storage bill.

Douglas touts technology in effort to boost global understanding

Washington – Michael Douglas says technology is helping children from across the world gain a better understanding of humanity’s cultures and religions.

The 62-year-old actor is working with Global Nomads Group, which uses technology such as videoconferencing to link children across the world to foster greater understanding.

“I think it helps them to understand and feel more a part of the world,” he said in an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

Douglas said the group in 2003 conducted a program with Iraqi and American students.

“It gave American students the chance to be able to look eye-to-eye and begin to understand more clearly Iraqis as human beings,” he said.

Douglas won an Oscar for his role in 1987’s “Wall Street.” He has also starred in “Fatal Attraction,” “Traffic” and “Wonder Boys,” among other films.

Counting Crows singer starts record label with MySpace acts

Los Angeles – Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz has started his own record label.

Duritz said he hadn’t planned to start a label but came across a pair of acts on MySpace that he found irresistible: Chicago-based punk-pop band Blacktop Mourning and a New York rapper known as Notar.

“The talent of Notar and Blacktop Mourning just blew me away, and I wanted to be a part of their evolution,” Duritz said Friday.

He is calling the “intimate boutique label” Tyrannosaurus Records.

Duritz sings on four tracks of the Blacktop Mourning CD, “No Regrets,” which is scheduled to be released in May.

The label has scheduled a fall release for a CD from Notar, who is a trained jazz trumpeter as well as a hip-hop MC.

Duritz said he also is working on new material for an upcoming Counting Crows album.