That's right, everyone's favorite navel-baring, 18-year-old phenom Britney Spears will soon get her own museum, thanks to the kind folks in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana (population: 2,600).

From her youth as a Mouseketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club, to her, um, youth as the reigning queen of bubblegum pop, Spears' storied career will now be chronicled for a special wing of the Kentwood Museum, tentatively set to open early next year.

After watching their hometown girl take on the world with platinum-sellers like Oops!...I Did It Again, residents of this small town, located about 100 miles north of New Orleans, decided they needed to create a permanent tribute. Thus, Britney will soon take her appropriate place next to the museum's war memorial (where Britney's grandpa was once honored) and other town history exhibits.

"This town has just received thousands of phone calls inquiring about her," says Sandy Reed, a Kentwood resident who's been coordinating the project along with town councilwoman Kathy Bryan. "People want to know where they can go, so with her support and approval we'll have a lot of her personal clothes, platinum records and things she had on tour.

"We're a small community, and everybody just loves Britney."

Reed says they had been mulling over the idea for about a year, and they began work six months ago once they got approval from Britney's camp. The museum has been collecting a wide range of memorabilia, including stacks of fan mail and other "artifacts" recovered from years of intense archaeological digs...or stuff they just got from her mom.

Reed says they're hoping to have the new exhibit open by early next year, and with some scheduling luck, will hold a grand opening with Spears' herself cutting the ribbons and taking the first tour.

Believe it or not, fans were incredulous that it has taken this long for Kentwood to get crackin'.

"I think as most of her fans would agree, it's about time she got her own museum," says Rajiv Doshi, founder of the fan Website, britneyspears.org. "It will show people that she has had a huge impact on our culture already, and will continue to because she is here to stay."