More than 85,000 people want to be Paris Hilton's best friend.

The 27-year-old is using the Internet to cast potential friends for her new reality show, "Paris Hilton's My New BFF." The MTV series, which begins production next month, will follow 20 contestants as they live together and vie for the chance to be Hilton's permanent plus-one.

Thousands of candidates have posted profiles and videos on ParisBFF.com in hopes of winning a spot on the show. Visitors to the site can vote for their favorites, and the top vote-getters will be added to the cast, producers said.

The site has already collected more than 6 million page views since it went live five weeks ago. And the heiress herself is among those checking out the daily posts.

Hilton, who also serves as the show's executive producer, took time out after an MTV business meeting to talk with The Associated Press about her public quest for friendship.

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AP: Why take your search for a new best friend to the reality-TV world?

Hilton: Well I did "The Simple Life" for five seasons. I had a great time. I love reality TV. It's my favorite to watch. When I was approached with this idea I just thought it would be so much fun, being a producer on the show as well, having boys and girls move into a house all vying to be my best friend, I just thought it'd be fun and I'd also like to meet some new friends.