Paris  Hilton has hijacked the U.S. presidential race with a spectacularly sarcastic attack on candidate John McCain.

The heiress filmed a spoof response to a television advertisement run by Mr McCain's team.

The Republican, 71, had tried to discredit his younger rival Barack Obama by likening him to light-weight celebrities such as Miss Hilton.

'I'm just hot': A scantily-clad Paris reveals why Americans should vote for her

But he may be regretting the comparison after her two-minute rebuttal video became an internet sensation and stole valuable air time on the major news channels.

The video, in which Miss Hilton describes Mr McCain as 'the oldest celebrity in the world', was the work of a TV comedy writer.

It starts with a grave-sounding male narrator saying that Mr McCain is 'like super old. Old enough to remember when dancing was a sin and beer was served in a bucket.'

Poking fun: Paris Hilton mocks Republican Presidential candidate John McCain in a spoof video

Then Miss Hilton, 27, wearing a leopard print swimsuit and lounging around a swimming pool, offers her take on the White House race. 'Hey, America, I'm Paris Hilton and I'm a celebrity too,' she says. 'Only I am not from the olden days and I am not promising change like that other guy. I am just hot.

'But then that wrinkly, white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad. Which I guess means I am running for president  -  so thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude. And I want America to know that I am, like, totally ready to lead.'

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The heiress  -  whose family has donated several thousand pounds to the McCain campaign  -  even offers her thoughts on solving the energy crisis.

She says: 'Why can't we do a hybrid of both candidates' ideas? We can do limited offshore drilling, with strict environmental oversight, while creating tax incentives to get Detroit making hybrid and electric cars.

'That way the off-shore drilling carries us until the new technologies kick in  -  energy crisis solved.'

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Yesterday Mr McCain's camp tried to make light of the video. 'In reality, Paris Hilton may have a more substantive energy policy than Barack Obama,' spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

Yet the video has shifted the focus firmly back to the thorny issue of Mr McCain's age, ahead of the November 4 election.

Miss Hilton's film was written by Chris Henchy, who is married to Brooke Shields. Mr Henchy said: 'McCain strayed into the pop world and now he's getting bitten back.'

The Paris video describes John McCain as the 'oldest celebrity in the world'