NEWS LITE : PRINCE WILLIAM OWN PERSON, UNCLE SAYS.

Prince William may share the late Princess Diana's blond locks, lanky build and easy smile, but he will grow up to be his own man, Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, said Wednesday.

``I don't think that because he has her looks or her charisma he should be expected to be like her,'' Spencer said of his nephew, who is second in line to the throne. ``But I do suppose he has some of her magic with people.''

In a searing eulogy at his sister's 1997 funeral, the earl promised that the Spencers would help raise William and his brother, Prince Harry, in the ``imaginative and loving'' way Diana intended, which was considered a swipe at the royal family.

Addressing a luncheon of the Association of American Correspondents in London, Spencer declined to specify how much time he spends with his nephews, but said William, 17, and Harry, 14, have open invitations to visit the Spencer estate at Althorp.

The two have visited their mother's grave on a secluded island at the family estate, he said.

Asked his feelings about the monarchy, Spencer called it a valuable English institution at the emotional heart of the country. William, he said, ``will do a fantastic job when he's king.''

Horror writer goes back under scalpel

Author Stephen King underwent a third operation Wednesday for injuries suffered when he was struck by a van last weekend.

King remained upbeat before he went into the operating room, said Charles Gill, a spokesman at Central Maine Medical Center.

Doctors hoped to repair King's right hip socket, Gill said. Previous operations were to stabilize his broken leg bones and insert pins and plates.

Gill didn't know how many more operations will be needed to bring the 51-year-old writer, nicknamed ``Master of Horror,'' back to full health. Doctors have said rehabilitation could go on for months.

Boxing champion to belt out tunes

Move over, Ricky Martin: Boxing champ Oscar De La Hoya is taking singing lessons and has signed a record deal with EMI Latin Records.

Celebrity lawyer Bert Fields was among attorneys who closed the deal this week and ended a spirited bidding war for the prize fighter, who has been pursued by record labels since he sang last year on the Spanish language talk show ``Cristina,'' Daily Variety reported Wednesday.

De La Hoya will be featured on both Spanish-language and English-language albums. He has been getting instruction from celebrity voice coach Seth Riggs.

De La Hoya joins a roster that includes Carlos Ponce, Ednita Nazario and Graciela Beltran. The late Selena also was in EMI Latin's lineup.

Decapitated dummy on police duty

Police Lt. Dan may be a dummy, but the three men who decapitated him and hid his body under a spare tire may be just as dumb.

For years, the Boulder City (Nev.) Police Department has placed a patrol car in various sections of town with Lt. Dan - a plastic dummy - in the driver's seat to fool drivers into slowing down. Lt. Dan wears a police uniform and hat.

On June 11, three men out for a night of drinking broke the window to the patrol car and took Lt. Dan, Boulder City police Sgt. Jim Reed said Wednesday. As they were pulling Lt. Dan from the car, his head fell off.

Reed said the men then put Lt. Dan into the back of their truck under a spare tire.

But when they attempted to drive away, the wheels of their vehicle got stuck in the dirt.

When two police officers arrived, they noticed Lt. Dan in the truck.

``He said, `Help me, help me,' '' Reed said.

Timothy Smitherman, 21, his brother Jeffrey Smitherman, 18, and Dustin Belinski, 19, all of North Las Vegas, were arrested and charged with burglary, damage to a police vehicle and grand theft for taking Lt. Dan.

Ventura releases greatest-hits CD

Now there's more of The Body for everyone.

A videotape of Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's election and a CD of his memorable comments and speeches have been added to a list of memorabilia that includes action figures, T-shirts, coffee mugs and bumper stickers.

The video and CD are available only at Best Buy stores in Minnesota and North Dakota. They will soon be available nationwide.

The doll who gagged me; Mom objects to toy's powers

So much for Dr. Evil. British superspy Austin Powers has a real-life nemesis - a suburban Atlanta mom out to stop toy makers from selling a doll that ask: ``Do I make you horny, baby? Do I?''

The underwear-clad dolls with gorilla-like chest hair repeat lines from the Mike Myers comedy, ``Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.'' The ``horny'' quote particularly peeved Tamatha Brannon of East Point, a suburb of Atlanta.

``I can't believe this toy is approved for ages 10 and up: It's perverted,'' she said Tuesday.

Brannon grew upset when her 11-year-old son picked a doll up in a Toys `R' Us last week and pestered her about what ``horny'' meant. The doll doesn't speak unless you take it out of the package, but the quotation is written on the box.

``I'm appalled. I'm sick,'' she said. ``I want Toys `R' Us to take every one of those disgusting dolls off their shelves so no parent ever has to go through what I've just gone through.''

McFarlane Toys, which manufactures the doll, said the adult version of the doll is only available at record stores and novelty shops that cater to an older audience and never should have been sent to Toys `R' Us.

The company also makes a fully clothed Powers doll with ``softer'' quotes from the film, which is rated PG-13, said President and CEO Todd McFarlane.

``Given that we ship millions of toys all over the world, it's certainly possible one case ended up to the left or to the right of where it should have been,'' McFarlane said from his Tempe, Ariz., office.

Officials at Toys `R' Us headquarters in Paramus, N.J., were also surprised to hear that the adult version ended up on its shelves.

``We bought the version that does not say those things,'' said Rebecca Caruso, a company spokeswoman. Toys `R' Us stores throughout the nation were asked Tuesday to pull any of the ``horny'' dolls from the shelves.

News Lite is compiled by Karen Duffy from Daily News staff and wire reports

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) This frisky Austin Powers doll is meant for adults.

(2) De La Hoya