An entry at the Los Angeles County Inmate Information Center said Hilton, 26, had been processed into the jail system and given a booking number - 9818783.

 Hilton was ordered to serve time in jail after being pulled over in February for driving with a suspended license while on probation for a previous drunk driving violation.

 Celebrity website TMZ.com said an elaborate plan had been set in motion late Sunday to get the heiress behind bars without setting off a media frenzy.

 Hilton, her mother and sister, were first driven by her lawyer, Richard Hutton, to the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, where Paris officially surrendered to the Los Angeles County sheriff.

 She was then taken to a woman's jail in Lynwood where she is now serving her sentence.

 The plan was devised by the sheriff to throw off paparazzi, who have already been camping out in front of the Lynwood jail, creating a potential safety hazard, according to TMZ.com.

 In a statement, Hilton said she was scared but ready to face the consequences of violating probation.

 "During the past few weeks, I have had a lot of time to think and have come to realise I made some mistakes," the statement said.

 "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," the statement went on to say.

 TMZ.com said that in a departure from earlier plans, Hilton would be in solitary confinement 23 out of 24 hours every day.

 She will be allowed to use a shower, telephone and watch TV in a small pod adjacent to her cell, the website said.

 The blonde heiress, who stands to inherit a 30 to 50 million dollar slice of her family's hotel fortune.

 A high-school drop-out, Hilton first began to be noticed while working as a model for property tycoon Donald Trump's agency, rapidly acquiring a reputation as a party girl along with her sister, Nicky Hilton.

 But it was the release of an Internet home sex video featuring her and then boyfriend Rick Salomon which catapulted her into the public consciousness.

Agence France Presse