Paris Hilton debuts new single, "My BFF"

Paris Hilton poses for photographers during the European launch of her collection ''Paris Hilton Clothing Line'' in downtown Milan September 19, 2008.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Leave it to Paris Hilton to ratchet up the hype for her new TV show's debut, releasing a new single, "My BFF," on the same day the reality TV program "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" first airs on MTV.

The show -- a search for a new "best friend forever" who is hot, loyal and has the energy to keep up with Hilton's hectic lifestyle -- inspired the techno song Hilton said she co-wrote with her boyfriend Benji Madden of rock band Good Charlotte.

"Could you be the one I want? Could you be the one I need?" the millionaire socialite croons on "My BFF." "All of my life, don't you know I've been waiting ... for my best friend."

The tune will become the show's theme song.

Sixteen women and two men -- both gay -- were selected from some 300,000 applicants to compete for the honor of being Hilton's best buddy, accompanying her to red carpet events and simultaneously dodging and courting the paparazzi.

They enter a predominantly pink and sparkly world of challenges ranging from make-overs -- resisted at their own peril -- to dealing with lost luggage, private jets and looking hot on a rollercoaster.

At the end of each of the 10 episodes, one contestant is dismissed by a wand-waving Hilton with a catch phrase borrowed from instant messaging culture -- TTYN (Talk To You Never).

Hilton, 27, said loyalty was key to her friendships -- both in real life and in the series. "I am looking for someone I can trust, someone who is friends with me for the right reason," she told Reuters.

"A lot of girls want to be photographed with me. They get so excited when the paparazzi are around and put their arms around me. I don't like friends who try to use friends like that," she said.

Hilton says she has struck up a real, off screen friendship with the winner of the reality show but the name is being kept secret until the series ends in December.

Already, Hilton is working on a second series of "My New BFF," this time set in London.

The new single is the first off her second album which is due out later this year. It will extend the business empire of perfumes, clothing, shoes, dog clothes, movies and TV series that she has built in the past 10 years by trading on her fame for being herself.