The 24-year-old has been spending hours holed up inside Manhattan’s Sony Music recording studio, and sources tell People magazine she is heading to Miami over the weekend to continue working on the new project.

She’s apparently also enlisted some top talent to help hone her new sound.

At a Louis Vuitton party in New York City on Thursday night, Pharrell Williams, who produced Britney’s 2001 hit I’m A Slave 4 U and has since worked with Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani, told People magazine that he’s onboard.

Asked about his forthcoming projects, he said: "The stuff I’m about to do is amazing, but I don’t like talking about what I’m about to do."

He paused, then said: "Okay, I’m going in with Britney."

The disc will be Brit’s first original album since In The Zone, which she released back in 2003.

Britney to leave LA? - Nov 10 2006
It seems pop princess Britney Spears is fed up with Los Angeles and is keen to move to the Big Apple.

Pals of the 24-year-old mum-of-two - who this week filed for divorce from hubby Kevin Federline - say she wants to ditch her Malibu mansion and make a fresh start.

"Everywhere Britney has been in New York, people have been really kind to her," a pal told the Daily Mirror.

"It’s the kind of place she needs right now."

Yesterday it was revealed Kevin is to fight Britney for custody of their two sons - one-year-old Sean Preston and baby Jayden James, who was born on September 12 - following the breakdown of their two-year marriage.

Aspiring rapper K-Fed also wants a slice of the pop star’s multi-million dollar fortune, court documents revealed.

Britney cited "irreconcilable differences" when she filed for divorce.

K-Fed will fight for Britney’s kids - Nov 9 2006
Kevin Federline is to fight Britney Spears for custody of their two sons after the breakdown of their two-year marriage.

Aspiring rapper K-Fed also wants a slice of the pop star’s multi-million dollar fortune, court documents revealed.

Britney, 24, who gave birth to the couple’s second son just two months ago, cited irreconcilable differences when she filed for divorce earlier this week.

She waived her right to maintenance from K-Fed, whose career has yet to match the success of her own, and she asked that each party pay their own legal fees.

She also listed assets including "miscellaneous jewellery and other personal effects", her earnings from after the separation date and other assets to be determined later, as separate property - and thereby off-limits to her ex.

Britney wants custody of one-year-old Sean Preston and baby Jayden James, who was born on September 12.

However, lawyers for Kevin, 28, said he also wanted custody of both children.

Michael Sands, a spokesman for K-Fed’s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, said: "Kevin is prepared to go the distance in order to do what he feels is necessary to protect and safeguard the children and will not be intimidated or dissuaded from pursuit of those goals."

The pair married in the autumn of 2004, but almost immediately the media began speculating about the state of their relationship.

The couple contributed to the frenzied media coverage with their self-filmed reality TV show, Britney & Kevin: Chaotic.

Britney’s fake wedding - Nov 9 2006
Legal documents acquired by tabloid magazine Us Weekly appear to show that Britney Spears’ and Kevin Federline’s wedding didn’t take place until three weeks after everyone thought.