Prince has had some unusual brushes with the fourth dimension over his career. He wore the "cheeky" chaps during a TV performance. He changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol. And I'm pretty sure he composed "Bat Dance" because he lost a bet with Tim Burton.

So what is Prince's latest pointless activity? He's going after websites and blogs that use copyrighted images of him. Congratulations, Prince. You've found something that will take you approximately 3.5 light years to accomplish and probably alienate all your fan sites in the process.

According to the AP, Prince really isn't going after fans -- just unauthorized fan sites. (Umm, that's the fans, Prince.) His concert promotion company, AEG, says Prince will offer some material online for free, bypassing "phony fan sites that exploit both consumers and artists."

There's a reason fans to go unofficial websites for their favorite artists: Those sites are updated much more often than the official ones and are far more entertaining.

Check this Prince fan sites out if you have any doubt:

• Housequake.com
• The Dawn Experience
• Prince.org
• Dawnation.com

As if the photo fight wasn't enough, Prince also released a new song called "PFUnk," with its lyrics pointed directly at his fans: "The only reason you say my name is to get your 15 seconds of fame, nobody's even sure what you do," he sings. "I don't care what people may say, I ain't gonna let it ruin my day."

[AP photo; yeah, we're cool, Prince]