Kylie caps comeback with single, new Web site

LONDON (Reuters) - Australian singer Kylie Minogue capped her comeback from breast cancer on Monday with a new single and the launch of a mobile phone social networking site that its designers said was a first for a major pop act.

Minogue’s spokesman also confirmed she had discussed the possibility of a world tour in 2008, when she will be 40, but that no decision had been made.

The Daily Mail newspaper reported on Monday that Minogue had cancelled a forthcoming tour due to concerns over her health.

“Kylie has not been told by her doctors that touring ‘could seriously harm her health’,” Murray Chalmers of record label EMI said in a statement.

“Touring is something that she is still considering for the future. Her health remains excellent,” he said, adding that Minogue’s representatives had demanded a “prominent apology for today’s highly damaging story” from the Mail.

Minogue, one of the most successful female artists in Britain with hits from “I Should Be So Lucky” to “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”, released her new single “2 Hearts” digitally on Monday. It will be in shops a week later.

Her album “X” appears on November 26.

“2 Hearts” has already been branded a “surefire No.1” by the Sun tabloid, reflecting Minogue’s popularity in Britain. Her worldwide album sales are estimated at around 40 million.

SOAP ACTRESS TO POP FAME

Having transformed herself from a 1980s soap actress into an international fashion icon and top-selling pop star, her appeal was further enhanced by her battle with cancer.

“If Kylie won admiration for her pop success, her courage and dignity in the face of her 2005 battle against breast cancer earned the public’s enduring respect,” Hello magazine wrote.

Minogue was forced to suspend her “Showgirl Tour” when she underwent surgery in Melbourne, followed by chemotherapy in Paris where her then boyfriend had a home.

“When you are stripped of everything and you have to grow your eyelashes back, grow your hair back, it’s astonishing,” Minogue told Glamour magazine in a recent interview.

“It’s hard to express what I’ve learnt from that, but a deep psychological and emotional shift has obviously taken place.”

During her recovery, Minogue penned a children’s book and made occasional public appearances before returning to the stage in Sydney a year ago to resume her tour.

To coincide with the new single, Minogue has launched her own social networking Web site www.KylieKonnect.com allowing fans to register on their mobile phones, blog, communicate with other users and upload images and video.

Its designers, New Visions Mobile, believe it is a more mobile and flexible model than social network sites like MySpace and Facebook, already important marketing tools for pop stars. It also allows Minogue to sell music online.

“The whole thing is set up so that Kylie can update her blog and have a closer connection with fans,” said Julia McNally, business development director at New Visions Mobile.