LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MAY 6, 2008) REUTERS -

The judge in the custody battle between Britney Spears and her
ex-husband granted the singer additional visitation time after praising Spears
for making progress in getting her personal life under control. The
26-year-old Spears, turned up for Tuesday's (May 06, 2008) custody hearing
court on time, demurely dressed in a brown polka-dot dress and cream cardigan,
and accompanied by her parents. It was a striking contrast to weekly court
sessions of a few months ago when she failed to appear or left abruptly.
    The lawyer representing Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline told
reporters the judge had extended her visitation rights, without providing
details.
    "The court made the orders today, that they were orders that the
parties were able to agree to, or mostly agree to," Federline's lawyer,
Mark Vincent Kaplan, told reporters after the closed door hearing. "It
represents a step going forward, a cautious step but a step nonetheless. We
are pleased with the progress that occurred and cautious going down that
track."
    Spears was stripped last October of legal and physical custody of Sean
Preston, 2-1/2, and Jayden James, 20 months. She lost the right to visit them
in January but Federline agreed in February that Spears could occasionally see
the boys under supervision.
    The singer has turned her life around in the past two months after a
year of bizarre behaviour and two brief hospitalizations in Los Angeles for
psychiatric evaluation.
    "We are so pleased at Britney's progress and we are very
appreciative of the court's recognition of this progress," her parents
said in a statement on Tuesday. Spears is due back in court in July for a
further progress report.
    Spears' father Jamie Spears was granted control over her personal and
business affairs in February, and the singer's former self-styled manager and
constant companion, Sam Lutfi, has agreed to a restraining order that keeps
him away.
    Spears won praise for a guest appearance on the TV sitcom "How I
Met Your Mother" in March and is set to reprise her role as a office
assistant on the show in May. She has also been rumoured to be working on a
new studio album.