However, fresh questions are now being raised in relation to the abduction of the 18year-old. Among the most fascinating is whether Kampusch's mother, Brigitta Sirny, knew her daughter's captor Wolfgang Priklopil.

Details of the fraught relationship between mother and daughter have emerged in the past week, as have allegations Priklopil was not the random kidnapper he was first thought to be.

The sensational disclosures, published in Germany's Stern magazine, were made by Anneliese Glaser, a neighbour of the kidnapped girl.

Glaser, who lived in a flat in the same block as Kampusch immediately prior to the kidnapping in March 1998, claims there was "a connection" between the mother and the man who took Natascha.

Glaser worked as an assistant in a grocery shop owned by Sirny. She said that six months before Kampusch was kidnapped, she saw the girl's abductor carrying out electrical repairs in the shop.

"I am sure it was Priklopil. I am sure that Sirny and Priklopil knew each other and that there was a connection."

Sirny has previously denied any complicity, while Kampusch, now surrounded by a team of media advisers, refused to comment.

However, the claims have added to the growing confusion and intrigue surrounding the story. While the teenager has spoken publicly of her ordeal . . . claiming she was constantly looking for ways to escape, and fantasising about cutting her captor's head off . . . questions have been raised as to the relationship between captor and hostage.

Kampusch originally denied she had gone on a skiing excursion with her abductor, but has since confirmed such a trip did take place.

She has also admitted she regularly went shopping and for walks with Priklopil.

Revelations that her family life was far from perfect prior to the kidnapping have added fuel to the fire. Friends and neighbours have said Kampusch was not a happy child before she disappeared, aged 10. Brigitte Weber, an ex-girlfriend of Kampusch's father, said that she was often locked in the house. It has also been alleged that Sirny beat her daughter.

It is the claims the girl's mother may have known her captor that have caused the biggest headlines, however.

Austrian newspapers have claimed Sirny and Priklopil used to drink together close to the flat where Kampusch lived and it has been alleged the two were seen in each other's company weeks before the girl disappeared.

Police have said that they are investigating such a possibility and are looking into Glaser's claims. "We have questioned her [Glaser] a number of times but these claims are something she never told us, " said Gerhard Lang of the Austrian Federal Office of Criminal Investigations. "We are aware of the allegations that Priklopil and the mother knew each other, but have found no evidence to support those claims."

The rumour mill, meanwhile, has gone into overdrive. Some have even suggested there may be significance in the fact Kampusch waited until six months after her 18th birthday, when neither parent would have legal claim over her, before making her escape. The fact Kampusch has become a very wealthy young woman has added to the public fascination. She is reported to have earned over 800,000 from media interviews since attaining freedom, and a movie deal is thought to be in the pipeline, with Scarlett Johansson tipped for the lead.

In the meantime, questions relating to the truth of Natascha Kampusch's kidnapping will persist.