Paris Hilton and Ghislaine Maxwell at an event in New York in the year 2000. Photo / Getty

A young Paris Hilton once caught the eye of Ghislaine Maxwell, and the shamed socialite tried to recruit the heiress into boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein's vile web, a former friend has claimed.

Christopher Mason has made the claim in an upcoming documentary, the Daily Mail reports, saying Maxwell exclaimed "oh my God" when she spied Hilton at a party.

He said Maxwell stated she would be "perfect for Jeffrey" and told a friend: "Can you introduce us?"

Although Mason, a US-based British journalist who has know Maxwell since the 1980s, did not give a date for the encounter, it likely occurred around the year 2000.

Back then Paris Hilton was not yet a household name but had started to climb the celebrity ladder, signing with Donald Trump's modelling agency, T Management.

She would have been 19.

Mason's claim comes in the new docuseries Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, set to premiere in the US later this weekend.

Mason said: "A friend of mine was at a party and Ghislaine said: 'Oh my god, who is that?' and was looking at this pretty, younger teenage girl.

"She said: 'Do you know her?'

"My friend said: 'Yeah, she's called Paris Hilton' and Ghislaine said: 'Ohhhh she'd be perfect for Jeffrey. Can you introduce us?'"

Mason also claimed that people were "puzzled" by the relationship between Maxwell and Epstein.

Mason said: "The rumours were Ghislaine was scouring New York finding younger girls to go on dates with Jeffrey. At the time it seemed a bit naughty."

The case against Ghislaine Maxwell, who is awaiting trial for helping Epstein abuse a string of underage girls, received more attention last week when a US judge ordered a tranche of documents to be unsealed.

The documents provide a fresh glimpse into allegations of underage sex and "constant" orgies on Jeffrey Epstein's private island as well as a fierce civil court fight between Maxwell, and one of the women who accused the couple of sexual abuse.

The documents released were from a now-settled defamation lawsuit filed by one of Epstein's alleged victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

Giuffre claimed in the suit and other litigation that Maxwell recruited her in 2000 to be a sexual servant to Epstein. She said the couple subsequently pressured her into having sex with numerous rich or notable men, including Britain's Prince Andrew, US politicians, wealthy entrepreneurs, a famous scientist and fashion designer.