Katrina e-mails show 'PR worries'

It is not clear whether Ms Blanco ever saw any of the messages

Aides to the governor of the US state of Louisiana were worried about their boss' public image in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, e-mails show.

The revelation came after a congressional panel probing the federal government's response to the storm released messages exchanged in August.

The governor's office said the e-mail selection distorted the amount of attention spent on public relations.

Katrina devastated parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, killing 1,200 people.

Tens of thousands of families were forced out of their homes, and many have still not returned.

'Perception problem'

The e-mails were chosen from among an estimated 100,000 documents on a range of subjects, given to the panel by the office of Democrat Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.

Most of New Orleans was flooded in the aftermath of the storm

It is not clear whether Ms Blanco saw or responded to any of the messages.

In one, shows consultant Liz Mangham writes to Ms Blanco's press office: "Please put KBB in casual clothes, a baseball cap, etc."

"She needs to visit a shelter in prime time and talk tough, but hug on some folks and be sensitive," she wrote.

In another, Ms Blanco's assistant chief of staff, Johnny Anderson, expresses concerns over race relations: "You send that many black folks out of state, we will have a perception problem."

Ms Blanco's office dismissed the race issue as the concern of one aide.

President George W Bush and the federal emergency management agency (Fema) have been criticised for the slow and chaotic response in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

But Republicans argue that state and local officials must share the blame.

Correspondents say Republicans have focused their criticism on Democrat officials Ms Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, for allegedly failing to make clear their needs to the federal government and for not responding fast enough.

Former Fema director Michael Brown lost his job over his handing of the crisis.