|PIC1|God makes everything happen for a reason, says TV star and hotel heiress Paris Hilton after serving 23 days of a 45-day jail sentence in Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old has previously revealed that she has been changed by her prison experience, and that God has given her "this new chance" to make a difference.

Prior to her release, Hilton also announced her plans to take up charity work and discard the 'dumb blonde' image.

Appearing on CNN's Larry King talk show on Wednesday, Hilton said she was going to party less and be a "more responsible role model".

"It was a very traumatic experience but I feel like God does make everything happen for a reason," said Hilton on the show.

Hilton said she hated prison but it had been "a blessing in disguise", and had given her an opportunity to re-evaluate her life.

"I just felt this is like a new beginning for me, just sitting in jail I just used it as a journey to figure out myself and who I am and what I want to do.

"There's just so much more to me than what people think."

In the future, Paris Hilton said she wanted to set up a half-way house to help women when they are released from jail.

Hilton was sentenced to 45 days on 3 June for violating probation on a driving ban. She was released early from the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California, due to crowded jail conditions and time off for good behaviour.

She was briefly freed on medical grounds earlier this month but was sent back to jail by an outraged judge.