LOS ANGELES (AP) - After only three days behind bars, Paris Hilton traded a 12-by-8-foot cell for her 2,700-square-foot Hollywood Hills home on Thursday when she was released because of an unspecified medical condition.

Hilton will be under home confinement, wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, for the remaining 40 days of her sentence for violating probation in a reckless driving case.

The celebrity inmate was sent home from the L.A. County jail's Lynwood lockup shortly after 2 a.m., a stunning reduction to a sentence that already had been cut from 45 to 23 days because of ``good behavior.'' Another two days were lopped off the original 45 since she checked in late Sunday and left early Thursday, earning credit for five days served.

No details were available on the nature of Hilton's medical condition. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore refused to answer questions about whether it was physical or psychological.

``I can't specifically talk about the medical situation other than to say that yes, it played a part in this,'' Whitmore said at an early morning news conference outside the jail.

Hilton's lawyer and publicist did not return calls seeking comment.

On Sunday night, after a surprise red-carpet appearance at the MTV Movie Awards, Hilton surrendered to authorities with little fanfare.

``I am trying to be strong right now,'' she told reporters at the time. ``I'm ready to face my sentence. Even though this is a really hard time, I have my family, my friends and my fans to support me, and that's really helpful.''

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06/07/07 14:12 © Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.