Paris Hilton has already starred in MTV's The Simple Life

Twenty men and women will compete to be the 27-year-old's new "BFF" (best friend forever) on the show, which will appear on MTV.

Hilton's wannabe friends must submit details to a website - www.parisbff.com - where online voters pick a shortlist.

The 20 finalists then move into a house with Hilton, learning "normal girl stuff" like fashion and shopping.

Hilton, launching the series at a press conference in Los Angeles, did not give details of how the winner would be chosen.

The socialite said she was looking for "someone that I can just trust, someone who's not gonna stab me in the back like has happened a lot in this town, someone I can have fun with".

Hilton already appeared alongside friend and fellow socialite Nicole Richie in the reality series A Simple Life.