'I am a good role model', says Paris Hilton

The vivacious hotel heiress brushes off her 'bad girl' image in an exclusive chat with tabloid! Here she reveals the 'real' Paris Hilton, what she's looking for in her new BFF and her plans in Dubai.

As Paris Hilton picked up a copy of tabloid! - with her face on the front page - the reaction was as expected. "Huge!"

Watch a video of tabloid!'s exclusive chat with Paris

"I love it here," she added, warning a member of her entourage not to lose the copy.

With a pose - and poise - straight out of a royal portrait, Hilton perched on a comfy chair in a private suite at the Hotel InterContinental Festival City throughout my one-on-one interview.

Still wearing the striking green jelabiya by Dubai designer Zahara that she unveiled at a press conference a few hours earlier, Hilton brushed away a stray hair which had fallen loose from her impressive up-do. "This is the first time I've worn anything like this," she said allowing the silky material to fall between her fingers.

"I think Middle Eastern fashion is so beautiful, elegant, glamorous. I just love this dress, so I'm excited to try some new fashions while I'm here.

"I've just always loved fashion, since I was a little girl. I've been going to the couture shows in Paris since I was little with my mum and New York Fashion Week and seeing everything, so when I travel it's really great to see all the fashions."

With vintage jewellery dripping from her hands and ears, Hilton said: "I'm definitely going to do some shopping here. I hear they have some of the biggest malls in the world and actually there is the mall next door [Dubai Festival City] which has my Paris Hilton handbag store, so I'm gonna go in there and check that out."

Keen to promote her brand empire, Hilton had jumped at the chance to speak about her business ventures at the evening's press conference, despite being told not to by her publicist.

"I'm a businesswoman, I can talk about that," she said to laughter from the crowd at the surprise outburst.

"I have plans to bring my lines to the Middle East. Fragrances, shoes, handbags and clothes. I'd also love to see a Paris Hilton hotel and nightclub, so maybe I'll start looking at some property here."

Hilton made sure tabloid! knew she would be coming back.

"They are going to be carrying the Paris Hilton sunglasses here in the next couple of months, so I'll definitely be back to check those out, too."

The hotel heiress, who landed in town on Tuesday, is visiting Dubai to film Paris Hilton's Best Friend Forever Dubai, the fourth in the reality television series.

It was a far cry from the usual scenes around the streets and hotspots of Hollywood when Hilton arrived at the Dubai airport's Al Majlis VIP suite to be greeted by just two photographers (one of whom was her official show snapper).

"It was very different. Usually when I get off an aeroplane, there are like 100 paparazzi, it's complete mayhem, really scary and everyone's pushing and screaming. So I felt very calm. Everyone was very respectful and I just thought everyone was so polite and welcoming.

"It felt very nice and comforting. Landing here and having everyone be calm, polite and quiet and not going crazy, it was a really great start to the trip."

Hilton tried hard to express her respect for local culture by addressing the media at her press conference with an emphatic assalam alaikum, before trying to say her new catchphrase, "huge", in Arabic.

"I love Middle Eastern culture and want to learn more about it."

Paris said she'd get a henna tattoo, ride a camel, go skiing and swim with the dolphins during her 21-day-long stay in the city.

But with mixed reactions surrounding her visit from people across the UAE, Hilton said she wanted to show residents she is a good person.

"I think I am a good role model," she said. "I've come from a really nice family, I'm a good person, I have a really big heart. I've worked very hard, even though my family have their own money. I've done something on my own - created an empire and done it all by myself."

"I'm great to all my fans, I treat people with respect and I always make sure to do charity work and I just have a big heart. I think when people get to know me, they see the real me. And I know there are a lot of tabloids who write mean things about me, but I don't pay attention to them, because I know the real me, and my friends and my family can see that."

Talking about her show, Hilton said she's looking for a friend who's loyal and has good intentions, adding that the Middle East version would be very different from those filmed in the US and UK.

"What happened in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. I will not make my girls [the 22 finalists] do anything like that, as I respect the culture of the UAE and Dubai is a far classier place anyway."

The blonde bombshell, however, refused to disclose how much money she'll make from the show, saying: "A lady is not supposed to discuss money, as it's tacky."

So what surprises will the show hold for viewers and contestants in the Middle East?

"Well I work with the producers coming up with the challenges, they're always a lot of fun.

"I know the challenges are going to be very different to the ones we've shot in the US, just with the cultural differences and the rules. In LA, I know what's going on but I've never been here before, so I know the contestants are going to show me a world that I've never seen."

She admitted unlike in London and the US, she would be "like a fish out of water" - she has never been to the region before, despite travelling extensively.

Hilton said she had researched the UAE's rules and customs before arriving and added that she promised her Middle East debut would offer none of the controversy associated with previous shows.

"I wanted to know everything about this place first because I wanted to make sure everything was OK," she said.

"I just want to respect everyone here."

Paris' Aquaventure

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that Paris Hilton was bound to pay a visit to one of Dubai's most popular tourist destinations - Atlantis and Aquaventure.

She Twittered about her visit on Thursday almost immediately posting pictures of herself next to the shark tank .

"Then I went to the water park at the Atlantis and went on all the slides. So much fun! I feel like I'm in Paradise! :) Check out Dubai :)," she posted just hours after her waterpark adventure.

"Dubai is such a beautiful place, this morning I went swimming in the ocean. The water was as warm as a bath, so incredible," she added.

The heiress posed in a leopard print bikini in front of the famous pink arch of the hotel and also got shots of herself next to the shark tank inside the park.

Hilton's Atlantis weekend didn't end there - she followed in the footsteps of Mischa Barton and swam with the dolphins at Dolphin Bay.

Gulf News readers spotted her riding the flumes - including the Leap of Faith vertical slide - and wrote about it on gulfnews.com.

"Was smashed with a surprise when I saw Paris in Atlantis, posing in front of the sharks' aquarium... Then I saw her going into water, grabbing a tube," wrote Abu Abdullah.

Richard from Dubai exchanged a few words with the starlet. "Chatted to Paris in the 'torrent' river ride at Atlantis, when my tube bumped into hers."

Shhussh...

Concerns over the privacy of Paris Hilton's candid conversations reached new highs in Dubai when a transmitter was discovered under a chair in a private suite where she gave one-on-one interviews with the media.

The electronic device was spotted by a member of her entourage and hotel security were called in immediately.

Transmitters such as the one found are typically used by television crews to send audio wirelessly.

It's not known how much sound the device could have picked up, or how far it could have been transmitted. Hilton's publicist has asked hotel staff to investigate.