While the celebrity magazines have followed every move of "Hills" stars Heidi Montag and Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port has quietly emerged as a player on the hit reality show.

Port has been an integral part of the show since the beginning, where she has been a sounding board for Conrad's daily dramas as they toil away at Teen Vogue and, in recent episodes, has been joining in the fun outside of work, too.

"Each season, I've kind of opened up more and more," said Port, who couldn't definitely confirm a fourth season but says it would be "awesome" if there is one. "I went on that date [with trainer Jarrett] this season, and it was very strange for me, so I don't know how I can keep doing that, but I definitely want to be way more involved than just the work aspect of it."

MTV airs the third-season finale of "The Hills" tonight at 10, with a two-hour preshow starting at 8. The series follows a group of friends working and living in California.

Viewers, no doubt, will be watching to see how the relationship fares as Conrad tries to make an honest man out of on-off beau Brody Jenner.

"I think that they're a beautiful couple and they have chemistry, but I think that they're both in different places in their lives," Port said. "Lauren would say that, too."

Critics have repeatedly slammed "The Hills" for being long on scripts and short on reality. Even creator Adam Divello told TV Guide in October that some scenarios are "a little fake," but that all the relationships and dramas are the characters' own making.

"To the best of my knowledge, it's completely real," Port said. "All the drama and all the mishaps that happen between everybody is really what's going on in their lives today. At certain points, maybe our mics get messed up or, you know, we don't have confessionals, so at certain points we might say something, but the whole story line and everything is completely true to life."

Though the cameras sometimes catch embarrassing situations, Port says she's glad she's putting her life on record.

"At points I look at it and I think it's really, really strange, and it's hard to watch myself on tape," she said, "but I know that probably, years from now, I'll look back on it and be thankful for it."

Her parents are okay with it, too.

"They're totally cool with it," Port said. "I think that because I've put limits on what I do on-camera, they don't really have anything to worry about, and neither do I."

posted by Lysandra @ 7:46 PM