Paris Hilton starts jail term

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Socialite Paris Hilton has begun serving her Los Angeles jail sentence for violating probation, her attorney said on Sunday.

"Paris Hilton has turned herself in to begin serving her sentence for violating probation at a Los Angeles County Jail located in Lynwood, California," Richard A. Hutton said in a statement.

It also quoted the 26-year-old hotels heiress as saying: "This is an important point in my life and I need to take responsibility for my actions. In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make ... Although I am scared, I am ready to begin my jail sentence."

Celebrity news site TMZ.com said the surrender was done out of the glare of photographers staking out the Lynwood facility.

It said Hutton picked up at Hilton at her parents' house at 10:30 p.m. PDT (0530 GMT Monday), and drove to the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, where she surrendered to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. From there, she was driven to the jail in Lynwood.

Hilton's spokesman, Elliot Mintz, declined comment, saying he was awaiting word from the sheriff's department. A sheriff's official declined to confirm if Hilton had begun her sentence.

Hilton was due to turn herself in by Tuesday to start serving her term, which already has been cut from 45 days to 23 days under state sentencing guidelines.

Earlier in the evening, she attended the MTV Movie Awards near Hollywood, where she was the butt of comedians' jokes.