Paris Hilton's jail term halved for 'good behaviour'

Paris Hilton will serve around half of her 45-day jail sentence and will be separated from the general inmate population, authorities said.

The hotel heiress will spend about 23 days in a "special needs housing unit" at the Century Regional Detention Center in suburban Lynwood, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

Her sentence was shortened after jail officials gave her credit for good behaviour, Whitmore said.

Officials considered several factors in calculating the credit, including that she appeared for her latest court date, he said.

The decision comes after pictures surfaced of Hilton appearing to smoke a joint at Coachella music festival, which took place just weeks before her court hearing.

Hilton will stay in a unit that contains 12 two-person cells reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates, he said.

Like everyone else in the 2,200-inmate facility, Hilton will get at least an hour outside her cell each day to shower, watch television, participate in outdoor recreation or talk on the telephone, he said.

The 26-year-old socialite was sentenced to jail this month for violating the terms of her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

A judge ordered her to report to jail by June 5.

A call to her lawyer, DUI specialist Richard Hutton, was not immediately returned.

Her publicist, Elliot Mintz, declined to comment.

Hilton's mother Kathy recently spoke out about her daughter's jail sentence: "We can only hope that something positive will come from all of this. Hopefully, young people who look up to people like Paris will learn from this."