LOS ANGELES – If they had to live next door to a celebrity, American adults would most like to be neighbors with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and chat show host Oprah Winfrey.
But trouble-prone pop star Britney Spears would be the worst celebrity neighbour, according to a survey published on Tuesday of the most and least desirable well-known faces Americans would have in their backyard.
Republican vice presidential candidate Palin topped the poll of most desirable celebrity neighbors with 14 percent, closely followed by Winfrey, who was particularly popular with women.
Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps was heavily favored by men but came in third with 9 percent overall.
Paparazzi-magnets such as Spears, actress Lindsay Lohan and British couple David and Victoria Beckham apparently don't make the best neighbors.
Spears, who was followed day and night by packs of photographers for much of 2008, was voted the least desirable neighbour by 19 percent of adults, followed by Rosie O'Donnell (18 percent), Joe the Plumber (8 percent), who made headlines in the final stages of the U.S. presidential elections, and Lohan (7 percent).
Only two per cent of those asked wanted to live next door to soccer player Beckham and his singer wife Victoria.
The poll was commissioned by real estate Web site Zillow.com between Dec 15-17 with 2,196 Americans aged over 18.
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