Los Angeles - Britney Spears has found a new holiday companion - and her fans are hoping he'll be a positive influence.

According to reports Thursday, she has jetted off to Costa Rica with Mel Gibson, his wife and her father.

The group is set to stay at the Gibson mansion for a few days. Gibson and Spears were former neighbours in Malibu, and Gibson offered to help when the pop star was at her lowest earlier this year.

"Mel and his wife Robin clearly saw a woman in crisis and wanted to extend themselves in any way possible," a friend of the Gibsons told celebrity rag US magazine. (dpa)