Melbourne, January 28 : The Australian Defence Force has compensated TV celebrity Tania Zaetta for damaging allegations that she had sex with Special Forces soldiers while entertaining troops in Afghanistan.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon received a document making the allegations in May last year, but later they turned out to be untrue.

A Defence statement revealed that ADF chief Angus Houston met with Zaetta on Tuesday to personally apologise to her and her family "for any hurt and distress they may have suffered."

Zaetta said that she was thankful for the apology.

She, however, did not disclose the amount she was given.

"It''s very painful to go through something like that, and also to watch for my family to go through it. They also had a very rough time. He gave me a lovely, heartfelt, sincere apology, which meant the world to me. I''m not one to hold grudges," theage. com. au quoted her as saying.

Air Chief Marshal Houston also expressed his happiness over his success in resolving the issue.

"I have also made clear to Ms Zaetta that she is welcome to again join a forces entertainment tour in the near future," he said.

Zaetta said that she would be happy to do so, and would discuss suitable dates with Defence.

A Defence spokesman said that the investigation into who leaked the document to the media had been "inconclusive". (ANI)