LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The latest court hearing in the custody case surrounding Britney Spears's children has been postponed and rescheduled for Friday, a court official said Tuesday.

Spears's attorneys were due to appear in court Tuesday for a further hearing into custody and visitation rights concerning the singer's two children with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

However a Los Angeles court official confirmed the hearing had been rescheduled for Friday. No explanation was given, although entertainment news website TMZ.com said the move may indicate settlement talks were underway.

Last month Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan said the case was set for a custody trial to begin on August 25.

Spears, one of the most successful pop stars of her generation, has been locked in the custody saga with Federline since the couple split in 2006.

Her access to her children was restricted last October after she failed to submit to random drug testing as demanded at an earlier hearing where the court ruled she was a "habitual and continuous drug user."

Spears shot to superstardom in late 1998 with her smash-hit debut album "Baby One More Time," which she followed with another chart-topping success the following year, "Oops! ... I Did It Again."

Source: AFP