Vietnam is having Paris Hilton moment

An online sex video featuring a popular celebrity has riveted the nation for more than a week now, much as Hilton's clip seized the attention of Americans when it hit the Internet several years ago.

But unlike Hilton, the 19-year-old woman at the center of Vietnam's sex scandal won't be able to capitalize on her newfound notoriety.

Hoang Thuy Linh's show has been canceled and the actress has made a tearful farewell on national television.

"I made a mistake, a terrible mistake," said the doe-faced teen, who had cultivated a good-girl image. "I apologize to you, my parents, my teachers and my friends."

Her fall from grace has highlighted the generational fault-lines in Vietnam, a sexually conservative culture within which women have been taught for centuries to remain chaste until marriage and stay true to one man — no matter how many times he cheats on them.

Like everything else in this economically booming country, ideas about sex and gender roles are quickly changing as satellite TV and the Internet bring Western influences to a society cut off by decades of war and economic isolation.

But for many in communist Vietnam, new ideas about free love are much harder to accept than the free market. And unlike men, women who break the old sexual taboos are not easily forgiven.

"Kids today are crazy," said Nguyen Thi Khanh, 49, a Hanoi junior high school teacher. "They often exceed the limits of morality. They have sex and fall in love when they're much too young."

In the old days, Khanh said, a woman who had sex before marriage would be ostracized.

"A good girl must keep herself clean until she is married," Khanh said. "Thuy Linh should be condemned. If I ever see her again on TV, I will turn it off, for sure."

In "Vang Anh's Diaries," Thuy Linh portrayed an earnest high school girl, modern and stylish but determined to uphold the traditional virtues of "cong, dung, ngon" and "hanh," which promote women as tidy, charming, soft-spoken and chaste.

Then the 16-minute video hit the Internet on Oct. 15 featuring Thuy Linh in bed with her former boyfriend, both of them apparently aware that they were on camera.

On Thursday, Hanoi police detained four college students accused of posting the sex clip to the Internet. They could face charges of "spreading depraved cultural items," which carries a sentence of six months to 15 years if convicted.

Police identified the man in the clip as 20-year-old Vu Hoang Viet, who is currently studying overseas. They said a friend copied the film off of Viet's laptop, and passed it along to other friends who then posted it online.

Most of the public's wrath has been directed at Thuy Linh rather than Viet.

"People will forgive him, but not her," said Tran Minh Nguyet of the Vietnam Women's Union, which promotes gender equality. "Vietnamese think it's OK for a boy to have sex at that age, but not for a girl. It's absolutely unfair."

The video has been the talk of Vietnam. Even members of Vietnam's National Assembly were overheard gossiping about it last week at the opening of the new legislative session.

A few lonely voices have sprung up in Thuy Linh's defense. But in most newspapers and on blogs and Web sites, the video has become the target of jokes and condemnation.

VietnamNet, a popular online newspaper, said the episode underscored the "dark side of globalization" and warned that a flood of foreign influences "threaten Vietnam's cultural foundation."

The scandal also has disillusioned many of Thuy Linh's biggest fans.

"She was supposed to set a good example for Vietnamese students nationwide," said Chi, 14, a Hanoi junior high school student who declined to give her full name. "Now this scandal has ruined everything. It's completely destroyed her image."

Hilton's sex tape, made with then-boyfriend Rick Salomon in eerie night-vision green, surfaced just before the start of her reality TV series, "The Simple Life" and helped propel her to superstardom.

But in Vietnam, the video scandal is certain to destroy Thuy Linh's career, said Nguyet of the Vietnam Women's Union.

"Vietnam is changing quickly, but there's no way Thuy Linh will be forgiven," Nguyet said. "That will take another generation."

Michael Lohan: 'Don't Judge Lindsay and Riley'

“Extra” spoke exclusively to Michael Lohan as he promoted the faith-based event “GodMen,” but the interview turned personal when talked turned to Lindsay.

“All I’ll say is that she’s in the right place in her heart and mind and soul,” Michael said. He and Lindsay rekindled their strained relationship once she entered rehab at the Cirque Lodge this summer.

Their new relationship has “been a blessing. I feel blessed by being back in her life. I feel blessed that she’s back on the right path, that she’s found the right place in her life. She’s a blessed kid.”

Michael is also giving his blessing to Lindsay’s new beau, skateboarder Riley Giles.

“Riley is a good kid,” he says. “He comes from a good family. It’s not about what we did in the past. It’s about righting those wrongs.”

He adds, “I don’t think anyone has the right to judge Riley. They [Lindsay & Riley] keep each other in line. They go to meetings with one another.”

In regard to his relationship with ex-wife Dina, he added, “I wish the best for Dina.”

Britney Spears sets parenting program in motion

Britney Spears began her first Parenting Without Conflict session at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Oct 24, a source close to the singer has revealed.

According to reports, Spears' former husband, Kevin Federline, was also present at the hotel, as the program strongly urges that both parents take the course together, but it is not mandatory.

"She's not nervous, she's actually looking forward to it," People quoted the source, as saying.

The six week program teaches cooperative parenting and communication skills, and is one of several requirements that L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon ordered Britney to complete.

"Instead of saying 'You're always bringing the kids home late because you're an insensitive jerk.' We teach parents instead to say 'When you bring the kids home late, I feel like you're not valuing my time, and I feel hurt or angry as a result,'" Craig Ogulnick, a supervisor for the program, said.

Both Kevin and Britney are required in court on Oct 26 for a progress review, and must have completed at least three joint co-parenting counseling sessions together, the source said.

Besides, the 'Toxic' singer is also required to complete three individual counseling sessions "to address parenting issues."

Currently Federline retains physical custody of sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1.

Paris Hilton's new reality show

Paris Hilton is bound and determined to prove to the world that she can use her celebrity status to do good for the world, according to Daily Mail.

Doing what she does best, Paris will have a reality show camera crew with her as she travels to Rwanda on a mission trip. The Post Chronicle is reporting that an organization called Playing For Good is sponsoring Paris' trip.

Miss Hilton's voyage to Rwanda will be documented for the reality show, The Philanthropist. The new reality show won't only be tooting Paris' horn. It will also feature various other celebrities undertaking charitable endeavors.

Britney Spears to Plead 'Not Guilty'

Britney Spears is pleading innocent to her latest motoring misdemeanor charge--driving without a valid license.

The troubled pop star's attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, told TMZ.com he will plead not guilty on behalf of the 25-year-old when he enters the courtroom on Thursday.

Spears, who will not be present in court, has been booked with one count of hit-and-run causing property damage, and one count of driving without a valid California license. Both charges are misdemeanors, each carrying a maximum of six months in jail.

The charges stem from an incident on Aug. 6 in Los Angeles, where Spears allegedly smashed into a parked car in a private parking lot in the San Fernando Valley. The singer reached a settlement agreement with the woman whose car she hit, and it is thought that the hit-and-run charge is likely to be dropped.