Photographer on trial over Diaz steamy pics

A photographer who took steamy pictures of actress Cameron Diaz before she was famous is now on trial for what prosecutors said was an attempt to blackmail her for more than US$3 million ($4.5 million).

John Rutter, 42, is charged with forging the actress' signature on a May 1992 model release form, and of attempted grand theft.

Diaz's publicist has declined to describe the photos, but pictures of her as a bare-breasted 19-year-old have appeared on internet sites. They were taken two years before her breakthrough role in The Mask.