They are Britain's most written-about couple, so it is understandable that they should want to chip in a few words of their own. GEORGINA PATTINSON looks at our fascination with the glamorous pair

THEY'VE already had his 'n' hers outfits and his 'n' hers haircuts. Now Posh and Becks will have another his 'n' hers trophy to display on their bookshelves, another autobiography.

Spice Girl Victoria Beckham has just signed a reported £1m publishing deal with Penguin for her life story. She says the book will be based on diaries she has kept for a couple of years and she says the book will ''set the record straight''.

With David's book, David Beckham My World, already in bookstores, a spoof diary of their young son Brooklyn and a book by Andrew Morton called Posh & Becks only piles on the interest, it seems as though fascination with the lives of the pair has hit overdrive.

When Victoria wears an outfit, we want to know where she got it. When David auctioned his football boots recently, they went for £13,800.

As Beckham himself says: ''I can't understand the level of interest in every detail of our lives. How can it be front-page news if we go shopping, wear something different or get our hair cut?''

But it is and as Britain's most famous pair, the couple seem resigned to living with it. And by producing books and signing lucrative deals with magazines, they are furthering the fascination that has grown up around them.

Showbusiness psychologist Andy Evans, co-author of Fame: The Psychology of Stardom, compares them to a new kind of royalty.

''Andrew Morton in his new book, refers to them as royalty. Royalty refers to kings and queens but what he's referring to is the system where Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are royalty, where Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Paul McCartney, Sean Connery, the people who win lifetime awards are royalty. Within those there's a particular place for couples and we're low on couples these days.

''What we're looking for is another Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary Hollywood couples who entertain people as a royal couple when both are equally famous. That's what we're after and it's a rare phenomenon. It means massive weddings with an exclusive magazine deal, people who go out and wave to crowds. That's what Posh and Beckham do. It's that phenomenon we need and they are the closest by elimination.''

On top of that, there's always the fact that every little boy wants to be a footballer and every little girl a pop star that feeds the adulation they receive.

Posh and Becks' conspicuous consumption of designer clothes and fast cars bring sighs of envy from those of us who are a lot less well off. But there's also the fact that we love having someone in the public eye to foist our interest on. Evans points out that Diana, Princess of Wales was the ultimate example of that.

But is there anything left to find out? David's biography reveals that they love going shopping for outfits on a Saturday and going out and having a great night.

Other fascinating facts are that he cooks without a recipe but when they have friends over, she may do a lasagne. His dressing room is quite tidy - hers is a mess. They may get Brooklyn a rabbit when he gets older.

''It's a vicarious worship,'' explains Evans. ''We want to be rich, famous and glamorous - we're vicariously living in a better world when we read about them, it's escapism. They are the escape from routine."