JENNIFER ANISTON - PHOTOS 'SHOW ANISTON AND VAUGHN AS A COUPLE'

JENNIFER ANISTON and VINCE VAUGHN appear to have finally confirmed they are a couple, after being photographed canoodling on a hotel balcony in Chicago, Illinois.

Since filming upcoming movie THE BREAK UP, co-stars Aniston and Vaughn have been blighted by rumours of romance, but have maintained they are simply the best of friends.

But pictures published in British newspaper the Daily Mirror indicate they are now officially an item - one shows the pair kissing on the balcony of the city's Peninsula Hotel while another, taken the same place the following morning, sees them enjoying a cup of coffee.

An onlooker tells the publication, "They keep saying they are just friends, but that kiss was much more than just friendly.

"Jennifer was sitting on Vince's lap and kept stroking his face. Then she kissed him. It was very passionate.

"They were hardly trying to keep it a secret, because lots of people saw them on the balcony. It was as if they didn't have a care in the world."

Aniston's divorce to BRAD PITT, her husband of four years, was finalised earlier this month (02OCT05).