Why is Britney Spears wearing an engagement ring?

Troubled former pop star Britney Spears raised eyebrows yesterday when she stepped out wearing a large sparkling ring on her wedding finger.

But if there is a new man in the 25-year-old's life, he sure is keeping a low profile.

The mother of two, who was briefly linked to magician Criss Angel prior to her disastrous performance at the MTV Awards, made it a girls day out yesterday, visiting a Mexican restaurant with a female companion and later stopping in at a recording studio.
A night earlier she puzzled onlookers with an emergency midnight dash - to a tanning salon.

Controversy has engulfed Britney's personal and professional life in recent times.

Earlier this month, a LA judge presiding over her custody battle with ex husband Kevin Federline ruled that Britney is a "habitual, frequent and continuous" user of alcohol and controlled substances, demanding she take random twice-weekly testing.



Her former bodyguard Tony Barretto also spoke out about her behaviour, claiming he had twice seen her taking drugs while at LA nightclubs. He said: "She had me hold up a curtain, to make her area private."


Quizzed about the star, he said: "I have never seen her use drugs in the presence of her children. Alcohol? I don't know if 'abuse' is the correct language. I have seen her use alcohol."

Barretto, who says he is concerned about the safety of Britney's sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, concluded: "Britney doesn't listen to nobody. I mean, that's apparent."

Watch Britney's latest outing in Burbank, California