GARY GLITTER, the disgraced rocker and convicted paedophile — will be released from his Vietnamese prison later this month, according to the countries authorities.

An official at the Thu Duc prison in Binh Thuan province, where Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, is serving a three-year sentence for molesting two young girls, said he would be freed on August 19.

The 63-year-old was arrested in November 2005 at Ho Chi Minh airport as he tried to leave the country.

He was convicted in March 2006 of committing obscene acts with two girls aged 10 and 11.

Chu Xuan Mau, a prison official, said: “According to Vietnamese law, Glitter will be freed on August 19.

“The decision on his release will be read before him that day. It will be signed by the director of the prison.”

It is common practice in Vietnam to reduce the sentences of inmates with good prison records just before Tet, the Lunar New Year festival, and Glitter’s term was cut by three months in February 2007.

On top of the prison term, Glitter was ordered to pay five million Vietnamese dong (£180) to the girls’ families after his conviction.

In Britain, Glitter served half of a four-month sentence in 1999 for possessing child pornography.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said they were aware Glitter’s release was imminent, but added that it was for the Vietnamese authorities to decide on the exact date.

The singer would be given normal consular assistance after he was freed, the spokesman said.

His plans after release are unclear, but in June a Vietnamese police newspaper website quoted him as saying he wanted to continue working on his unfinished album and might consider settling in Hong Kong or Singapore.

There are also reports he may move to the United States, though with two convictions for child sex offences, his chances of obtaining a visa look slim.

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