The tabloids devote acres of space to the story, with stunned reactions from her friends, family and BBC colleagues all focusing on her popularity.

Commentators have been called on to speculate on motives and examine the nature of her broad appeal.

The Daily Star uses a huge picture of the BBC TV presenter and simply asks "Why?".

'Assassinated'

The Sun devotes its first 13 pages to the story

The paper says the anguished face of her Crimewatch co-presenter Nick Ross - who paid tribute to Ms Dando - summed up Britain's shock and grief over the killing.

The Sun tells the story under the headline "Assassinated". Inside, 13 pages are devoted to the story and it even picks through cases featured on Crimewatch to see if there could be a revenge motive behind the killing.

The Mirror says she was "Executed", and also clears many of the inside pages for coverage. The Mirror's leader column suggests the killing will be one of the UK's defining moments and compared it with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

The Express picks up on the theory that she was shot on her doorstep by a professional killer, and asks "Was she killed by a hitman?"

The Daily Mail pays tribute to her

Its midmarket rival, The Daily Mail says it was the "Death of the girl next door". It speculates on a possible link to stalkers.

The Times lead also picks up the possible link to a case she dealt with on Crimewatch and says police were examining hundreds of cases for a possible connection or motive.

But The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent all give the story more coverage than The Times in their early editions.

Kosovo takes a backseat

In other news, The Times says Nato leaders seized on the first signs of a serious rift in Belgrade after the Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister, Vuk Draskovic, called on his country to stop lying to the people.

The Mail carries a story which says a DNA test signals a major advance in the battle against Aids, by being another step towrds an effective vaccine.

The Independent reports on a call from anti-racist campaigners and community leaders for a ban on all neo-Nazi groups, such as Combat 18, in the wake of two recent bomb attacks in London.