Austrian invites Paris Hilton to ball

Vienna, Austria – Each year, wealthy Austrian businessman Richard Lugner invites a celebrity to be his guest at Vienna’s exclusive Opera Ball.

This year, Lugner and his wife, Christina, will be accompanied by Paris Hilton, the 74-year-old real estate and construction mogul said at a news conference Wednesday.

The 25-year-old socialite/actress/singer will travel to the Austrian capital with her parents and three girlfriends, Lugner was quoted as saying by the Austria Press Agency.

His past ball guests include Carmen Electra, Pamela Anderson, Andie MacDowell, Geri Halliwell and Grace Jones.

The Opera Ball, which will take place on Feb. 15 this year, is attended by Austria’s politicians, socialites and foreign dignitaries. Tickets for the event, which is broadcast live on national television, are extremely hard to come by and sell out months ahead of time.

K-Fed to add 30 seconds to 15 minutes of fame

Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. plans to run a national ad during the Super Bowl and has tapped Kevin Federline to star, the Columbus-based company announced Wednesday.

The 30-second spot, to air during the third quarter of the Feb. 4 game, will be the latest installment in Nationwide’s “Life Comes at You Fast” ad campaign. Previous celebrity ads in the series have featured Fabio and M.C. Hammer.

In the new commercial, Federline, 28, goes from starring in a rap video surrounded by beauties and bling to working at a fast-food joint.

“No one has personified ‘Life Comes at You Fast’ in the media better than Federline,” said Steven Schreibman, Nationwide vice president of advertising and brand management. “Our partnership with Kevin shows the world that he has a great sense of humor.”

Britney Spears, 25, filed for divorce from Federline, a former dancer, in November after two years of marriage.

Lohan checks into rehab

Los Angeles – Lindsay Lohan has checked into rehab.

“I have made a proactive decision to take care of my personal health. I appreciate your well wishes and ask that you please respect my privacy at this time,” said the 20-year-old actress in a statement issued Wednesday through her publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnick.

Us Weekly reports that Lohan entered the posh Wonderland Center in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, arriving in a sports utility vehicle and clutching a Jamba Juice.

Zelnick confirmed to The Associated Press in December that Lohan was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Lohan told People magazine then that she had been going to the meetings for a year.

O’Reilly, Colbert to trade appearances

New York – It may feel like looking into the mirror for Bill O’Reilly and Stephen Colbert tonight.

The Fox News Channel host and Colbert, who has essentially based his comic character every evening on Comedy Central on him, will trade appearances on each other’s programs.

On “The Colbert Report,” Colbert portrays a self-involved talk-show host who has tried to bring “truthiness” to the world. His character owes an obvious debt to O’Reilly, who holds court in the “no-spin zone” each evening.

“I’m really looking forward to speaking to a man who owes his entire career to me,” O’Reilly said last week.

“I look forward to the evening,” Colbert said. “It is an honor to speak face-to-face with a broadcasting legend, and I feel the same way about Mr. O’Reilly.”