Pop princess Britney Spears collapsed after a gig earlier this week after going on a crash diet. The starlet, 20, has reportedly been living on a diet of raw vegetables and water in a bid to drop the weight she gained after her split from 'N Sync singer Justin Timberlake. Britney's larger figure has been noticed by fans and the media since she started her "Dream Within a Dream" tour in May. A source told British newspaper The Daily Star, "Britney usually drops several pounds after every concert and needs to replenish herself with food and water. But this time she had only been on the diet for a few weeks and didn't want to eat. After the concert she complained of being dizzy and feeling light-headed. She drank some water, but still felt weak and friends begged her to eat some solid food, but she refused. Minutes later, Britney blacked out and slumped over in her seat motionless, looking like a rag doll. She was out for almost a minute. Everyone around her was in shock. After someone shook her, Britney's eyes opened and there was a collective sigh of relief. She was still a little groggy, but refused to go the hospital." Friends told her former love Justin, who rushed to telephone her to see if she was okay. The source adds, "He was really very concerned. He called Britney to find out how she was feeling. Britney was thrilled he called but it wasn't really what she wanted to talk to him about. She's still pining for him and hoping they'll get back together."

Demi Moore has found a man even wilder than her ex-husband Bruce Willis - rock'n'roll party animal Anthony Kiedis. The Striptease actress was once Hollywood's highest-paid female star, but since her divorce from Willis has been leading a quiet life with her three daughters, far from the glitz of Tinseltown. Demi made a return to the spotlight in impressive fashion at Paramount Pictures' 90th anniversary celebration on Sunday when she and the Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Kiedis slipped in through a side entrance to avoid paparazzi. Once inside, the pair linked arms and mingled with A-list showbiz guests like Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart. An eyewitness at the LA party reveals, "They spent the whole night being cozy and chatting intimately together. There was a lot of staring into each others' eyes. They are obviously very fond of each other." "Under the Bridge" rocker Kiedis has a lot in common with troubled Demi - their 40th birthdays this year are just 10 days apart, and both have been treated for drug problems, Demi for cocaine and Anthony for heroin. Both are vegetarians and ardent supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA).

Friends star Jennifer Aniston has found a raunchy new way to stay in shape - cardio striptease. The sexy wife of movie hunk Brad Pitt has been peeling off for the steamy workout with 20 other women at the Crunch Gym in Los Angeles as a way of "shedding pounds and inhibitions." A source told the Daily Star, "Jennifer believes cardio striptease is the perfect way to get fit. It helps keep her trim and it teaches her some very sexy routines." And, according to friends, the new moves have livened things up in the bedroom too. The source adds, "It's spiced up her sex life too - she now puts on strip shows for Brad as a treat." Aniston isn't the only famous babe hooked on the new fad. Former Baywatch beauties Carmen Electra and Angelica Bridges are also cardio striptease devotees. Angelica tells the Star, "I thought they would be using poles and straddling chairs, and doing all this crazy stuff, but it's actually the best workout I've ever had." But eager fans shouldn't get too excited by the prospect of Jen and co. baring all in the gym - most participants stop stripping when they get to their bra and panties.

'N Sync star Lance Bass has finally been confirmed as the Russian Space Agency's official candidate to go up into space. NASA announced that, after months of speculation and counter-claims, the singer has joined professional cosmonauts Sergei Zalyotin of Russia and Frank De Winne of Belgium on their proposed crew for a trip to the International Space Station as early as this autumn. NASA spokesperson Dwayne Brown said yesterday, "It's official, he's their candidate. We did indeed receive a letter nominating Lance Bass for the October flight." The Multilateral Crew Operations Panel, hosted by the Canadian Space Agency, are considering the application this week. Their spokesperson Anna Kapiniari says, "Right now, they're looking at the criteria and determining his eligibility." Although Bass will have to complete the six months training program in only four months, MirCorp, who are overseeing the project, are confident Bass will be the first boyband member ever to visit space. MirCorp spokesperson Jeffrey Lenorovitz says, "As final negotiations continue everything is being left open for Lance to fly. If and when the contract is signed, Lance will still have a chance. The mental approach from the Russians is positive, the whole atmosphere is positive, and people are pulling together. So if the conditions are met, he should have the opportunity to do it. It looks good."

Sharon Stone is making the most of her new clean bill of health by signing up for more movies. The actress, who hasn't made a film since Beautiful Joe in 2000, has been told the chronic headaches caused by bleeding at the base of her skull are a thing of the past. She says, "I got a clean bill of health at the weekend." And now she's adding to a busy schedule by signing up for new Disney thriller Cold Creek Manor with Dennis Quaid, where she'll play a tough wife fighting for her dream home with a released convict. Stone, who pulled out of a planned sequel to Basic Instinct last year, will also play Rupert Everett's wife in A Different Loyalty and will star in Liar's Club.

Hollywood veteran Michael Douglas says he is a better father to his toddler Dylan than he was for his first son Cameron. The Wonder Boys star, 57, says that although he loves his sons both the same, he could have been a better parent to 23-year-old Cameron - his child from his marriage to Diandra Douglas. With his movie career firmly established, Michael can devote more time to his Dylan and his new wife Catherine Zeta-Jones. Michael says, "After all my success, I feel incredibly free and can now be a better father and husband. "My midlife crisis lies behind me, and being a father again is fantastic. I eat more healthy food, I exercise, I get more rest. I still want to be fit for my kids for a long time."

Terminator 3 star Nick Stahl is relieved the new film is so good - because he's the sci-fi movie series' biggest fan. Stahl, who replaces Edward Furlong as John Connor in the latest sequel, calls 1991's Terminator 2 his favorite movie when he was growing up - so he's delighted Rise of the Machines, which is currently filming, looks even better than its predecessor. He says, "I saw the first one when I was really young. The second one was probably one of my favorite movies growing up. So I've seen that many times. It was a really interestingly conceived sort of story. And it's a great kind of commercial mix of dark, dark action and comedy. But I think the main aim was to basically up the stakes from the last one and to make the newest one even more groundbreaking. Because the second one, really nothing like that had been done before. And so I think in order to match that kind of enthusiasm, they have to really try that much harder as far as the story and the actual filming goes. And the effects, there's a lot of effects that are done these days that weren't available 10 years ago. In that way, visually, it's gonna be more realistic. It's hard to know how it's going to turn out, but if the script says anything I would say that it's definitely as good, if not better, than the last one." And Stahl, star of indie hits In the Bedroom and Bully, is unconcerned about replacing Furlong's notable performance as Connor in the previous Terminator. He adds, "I'm not trying to imitate anything about the character that's been done. I just don't think that that's really realistic or that's even possible. You have to kind of use your own arsenal. So I've really just tried to kind of make it my own," he says.

A cigarette smoked by actor Russell Crowe on Australian television has sparked a legal battle. The Nine Network has launched a challenge in Sydney's Federal Court against a ruling by Australia's broadcasting watchdog that it had breached a law banning the advertising of cigarettes. The Australian Broadcasting Authority says that an interview with Crowe aired on the station's "60 Minutes" program in October 2000 that showed the Oscar-winning actor brandishing a packet of Marlboros as he lit up breached the Tobacco Advertisement Prohibition Act. Part of the interview was replayed the following week after viewers criticized Crowe -- Oscar-nominated for his portrayal of a tobacco industry whistle-blower in The Insider -- for his smoking habit. The authority said that while the original footage was an "incidental accompaniment" allowed under the act, the repeat broadcast "recklessly" constituted a tobacco advertisement. It decided, however, not to fine the media organization. Nine Network lawyer John Griffiths told Federal Court judge Arthur Emmett that the finding was "perverse and irrational" and the authority should be ordered to reconsider its ruling. Nine Network had discouraged rather than encouraged smoking when it referred in the interview to the movie star's habit as "weakness to the demon weed," Griffiths said.

Reality rocker Ozzy Osbourne is to be a grandad for the first time - his 'secret daughter' Jessica is expecting a child. The British-born former Black Sabbath hitmaker has made headlines again thanks to his top-rated MTV fly-on-the-wall show The Osbournes - which features Ozzy's wife Sharon and kids Jack and Kelly. Ozzy and Sharon also have a daughter Aimee together, who doesn't appear in the show, but few fans realize Osbourne has two older children, Jessica, 30, and 27-year-old Louis, with his first wife Thelma. And Jessica is now pregnant and expecting her first child with her partner Ben.