He told the New Yorker magazine that he regretted donating $10,000 to the fund in the light of Clinton's admission of an "inappropriate relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

"In all honesty, in the light of events since, it would be awfully hard to say now, 'Oh, here, let me help you out with this problem'," he said.

But he told reporters on Monday he was still a fervent supporter of the president, and would be happy to give money again.

"If I was asked to do it again, I would probably give twice as much.

"I do regret the country is still going through the entire affair, and that we still have the need to pay attention to such things, and for a moment or so I might have questioned my original intentions."

Hanks stressed his backing for Clinton, adding, "You couldn't get a bigger supporter of the president than I am."

Studio boss quits after Babe flop

Babe: A Thanksgiving turkey for Universal

Movie sequel Babe: Pig in the City has flopped at the US box office - and helped cost studio boss Casey Silver his job.

The Universal Pictures chairman was forced to resign on Monday following disappointing ratings for the film over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The $90m film grossed $8.5m over the weekend, putting it in fifth place behind two other family features - Disney's A Bug's Life and Paramount's The Rugrats Movie.

It has been plagued by problems including last-minute editing difficulties which forced Universal to cancel a star-studded premiere for the film.

Babe: Pig in the City is the latest in a series of flops for the studio, such as Primary Colours, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas and Brad Pitt's new movie Meet Joe Black, which cost $85m but has only grossed $35m after three weeks.

Pavarotti for Las Vegas

Luciano Pavarotti: Returning to Las Vegas

Opera giant Luciano Pavarotti will be heading to the land of Elvis and Sinatra next spring when he sings at a new 12,000-seat venue in Las Vegas.

The tenor is due to appear at the new £600m Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino - home to a shark tank and a drive-in ballroom - on April 10.

Despite undegoing knee and hip replacements last summer, the 63-year-old singer's manager has denied he is retiring from staged opera.

It will be Pavarotti's first appearance in Las Vegas for more than 12 years.

Jackson slams school reports

Michael Jackson: Bottom marks for press reports

A spokesman for Michael Jackson has attacked press reports that the singer wants to send his son Prince Michael Junior to a British school.

"No-one knows anything about this, they make this stuff up," said spokesman Bob Jones.

Reports said Jackson had sent a representative to inspect Stowe school in Buckinghamshire.

The story followed reports earlier this year that Madonna had put her daughter Lourdes down for Cheltenham Ladies College.

Backstreet Boys on top

Backstreet Boys: Top of the US sales charts

The Backstreet Boys' debut album has sold more than eight million copies in the US, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

The Association's monthly figures show that the album, called Backstreet Boys, now ties with Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love as the best-selling non-soundtrack album of the year.

The record-setting Titanic soundtrack is the best-selling album of 1998 in the US with 10 million sales.

MPs take revenge on Bremner

Rory Bremner: Surprised by Hague and Benn

Impressionist Rory Bremner was surprised when several MPs who had been victims of his impersonations turned up at the launch of his latest CD.

They included Conservative leader William Hague, Labour veteran Tony Benn and independent MP Martin Bell.

Told that Mr Hague thought Bremner still had some work to do on the Tory leader's character, the Channel 4 satirist retorted: "So that makes two of us."

But he had harsh words for the government as well.

"In a strange way, this government has more characters than the last, but less character.

"I can't look at John Prescott without thinking of Les Dawson, and Robin Cook is a caricature of himself."