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Convicts Scooter Libby and Paris Hilton have agreed to be cellmates in the Popemobile, in what corrections officials call "a bold new experiment" in incarceration.

"We have long talked about transparency and accountability. We believe that the use of the Popemobile will bring about both," said Warden Gregor Gotja in an exclusive interview.

Officials wanted to experiment with the Popemobile on what are two relatively minor cases in anticipation of its use with such "bigger fish" as Vice President Dick Cheney and political advisor Karl Rove.

The U.S. Department of Justice purchased the Popemobile when Pope Benedict XVI decided to upgrade the pontiff's transportation. Attorney General Alfonso Gonzales used it for his personal transport until critics of the administration called the practice to the public's attention. Gonzales claimed that he was only "quality control testing" the vehicle as a possible means of presenting the President to large crowds.

"He wants to bless crowds as the personal representative of both God and America on earth, and we thought this might be an acceptable venue. However, given the overcrowding in our nation's correctional facilities, we've decided to go in another direction."

Ms Hilton was lukewarm when asked about sharing the Popemobile with Libby. "I'm used to my own room."

Correctional officials indicated that cohabitation with Libby was part of the heiress's punishment.