Britney Spears is to make her return to the MTV VMAs next week accompanied by Olympic swimming golden boy Michael Phelps.

The troubled star had been planning to perform live at the show too, but her manager pulled the plug on the idea - probably a good idea after her disastrous bikini-clad performance at the show last year.

Instead, it's emerged that Britney will take the stage with human fish Phelps to present one of the many awards on September 8, introduced by host Russell Brand.

She may well end up accepting a gong too - she's been nominated for her single Piece Of Me.

Britney has been slowly rebuilding her life and career after a string of very public meltdowns over the past couple of years which saw her lose custody of her children, become sectioned, collapse from a suspected drugs overdose and shave her hair off.

Now, she's looking toned, has her life back on track, and has started work on a new album with legendary producer Rodney Jenkins, who's previously worked on hits for the likes of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.

Talking of the new album, Jenkins said: "I've always worked with Britney and I love working with her. I'm trying to reinvent her and reinvent myself for her project, and stuff we did for her is very dancy, really uptempo. In the clubs, real aggressive, and catchy. Very hook friendly."

Jerkins added that Spears is in a very "positive" frame of mind at the moment too and they working towards a 2009 release date.

Source