Young (100 Myr old) extra-solar planets are 100000 times more self-luminous than old (5 Gyr) extra-solar planets, whereas their primary stars are only slightly (2–5 times) brighter when this young. Currently the majority of such young stars that are nearby (≤ 50pc) are located in the southern star forming regions and associations ( δ ≤ –20 deg.). To detect a faint point source (a planet) near a bright source (its star) requires high spatial resolution, that is moderate Strehl ratios at large telescopes. Therefore, NACO is the instrument of choice to detect extra-solar planets directly by imaging. However, NACO (like all AO systems) su.ers from a limiting ’speckle-noise’ floor which prevents the detection of planets within 1arcsec of the primary star. Hence NACO requires some method to suppress this limiting ’speckle-noise’ floor.