Jackson Bids To Recover Memorabilia

Michael Jackson is trying to buy back thousands of his family's personal possessions acquired and recently sold in an internet auction by a US businessman.

The collection, due to be shipped out of the US within days, contains personal items such as letters, stage costumes, a contract for plastic surgery supposedly performed on Janet Jackson and even sketches of noses. Construction company owner Henry Vaccaro claims it is the biggest collection of Jackson memorabilia in the world.

Vaccaro acquired the collection after nine years of legal wrangling with the Jackson family, when he paid off a storage and shipping bill owed by the family to a warehouse in California.

Also in Jackson news, the beleaguered pop superstar has launched a new website in a bid "to communicate with both my fans around the world, and the media", and in desperation "at people speaking on my behalf whom I do not know".

MJJSource.com will not only give Jackson a chance to speak out on his own behalf, but also, it is promised, will be a portal for "exclusive news, interviews and never-before-seen photos" of the star and his family.

KS