LOS ANGELES, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Hollywood celebrity and socialite Paris Hilton was released from jail this morning, nearly three weeks ahead of schedule, police said.

    But she must remain at home for the next 40 days, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

    He said the decision to release Hilton was taken after "extensive consultation" with medical personnel, but he refused to elaborate, citing her privacy rights.

    Referring to rumors that Hilton had been infected with a virus, the spokesman said "there was no staph infection, or anything like that."

    Whitmore said jail overcrowding was not a factor and that Hilton is now the responsibility of the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

    "It is not an early release; it is a reassignment," Whitmore said. "Hopefully, reasonable minds make the right decision."

    The 26-year-old Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in jail after a judge found that she violated her probation on alcohol-related reckless-driving charges by repeatedly driving on a suspended license.

    Under state sentencing guidelines, she was expected to serve only 23 days, with the Sheriff's Department listing her release date as June 26.

    The 26-year-old hotel heiress surrendered herself at the Twin Towers jail in downtown Los Angeles late night Sunday.

    The arrangement under which Hilton was allowed to go home actually reinstates the 45-day sentence but gives her credit for five days served, including Sunday, even though she surrendered late Sunday night, Whitmore said.