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LOS ANGELES: A smiling Britney Spears left a Los Angeles court on Tuesday after winning the right to spend more time with her two children, according to her ex-husband's lawyer.
The singer, 26, left Los Angeles Superior Court without commenting following a closed hearing where her lawyers were believed to have asked for increased visitation with her sons, Sean Preston, two, and Jayden James, one.
Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline currently has legal and physical custody of the children. Spears' visitation rights were severely restricted amid spiralling personal problems and fears for her mental health.
However, the pop star has appeared to have been getting her life back on track in recent months, after she was twice rushed to hospital earlier this year for treatment in a psychiatric unit.
Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, said Spears had been granted greater visitation rights in Tuesday's hearing, but did not reveal how much more time she would be allowed to spend with the children.
"We are pleased with the progress that seems to be occurring," Kaplan told reporters. "It's a cautious step but a step nonetheless. The (visitation) modifications will be phased in (in) the near future."
Later Tuesday, TMZ.com celebrity news website reported that Spears would now receive three days of supervised visitation with her children every week.
Kaplan meanwhile alluded to Spears' recent low profile when asked to talk about what signs of progress there had been.
"More important is what we don't see. I'm pretty sure that is appreciated by Kevin and recognized by the court," he said, adding that Federline wanted "two parents participating actively" in his children's lives.
Los Angeles court spokesman Allan Parachini earlier read a statement on behalf of Spears' parents, Jamie and Lynne, who sat behind their daughter throughout the hearing.
"We are so pleased with Britney's progress and we are very pleased with the court's recognition of this progress," the statement said.
Earlier, Spears had made a low-key arrival for the hearing – in stark contrast to her circus-like appearances earlier this year, when hordes of paparazzi swarmed around the singer.
Spears, wearing a polka-dot maroon wrap dress and summer cardigan, did not speak to reporters as she entered the court room.
Asked by commissioner Gordon to confirm her name, Spears replied: "Britney." When asked for her last name, she replied: "Spears."
Spears, one of the most successful pop stars of her generation, has been locked in the custody saga with Federline since the couple split in 2006.
Her access to her children was restricted last October after she failed to submit to random drug testing as demanded at an earlier hearing where the court ruled she was a "habitual and continuous drug user."
The singer has been rarely out of the tabloid headlines since her split from Federline. She was repeatedly photographed out partying while wearing no underwear, bizarrely shaved her head at a public salon, and attacked a paparazzo's car with an umbrella before finally entering rehab.
Spears shot to superstardom in late 1998 with her smash-hit debut album "Baby One More Time," which she followed with another chart-topping success the following year, "Oops! ... I Did It Again."
- AFP/so
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