Stuck lens cover on my Panasonic DMC-ZS3 ...

[alois]

I got the DMC-ZS3 lass than a year ago. I have been pretty happy with it so far ... then, a couple of day ago, when I turned the camera on the lens cover did not fully open. I am not sure if I use the right terminology, but I am talking about the litle plastic "shield" that closes over the lens when I turn the camera off. I can gently open the lens cover all the way, and the camera seems to work fine when I pull the cover open (manually), but it does not stay open. Instead, it slowly slides back into the closed (or almost closed) position. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and, if there is a "simple" (ie, do it yourself) fix. I spent quite a bit of money on this otherwise nice point and shoot camera, and I am a bit frustrated to have a silly problem like this after less than a year. And for no apparent reason either, I don't think that the camera was dropped or otherwise abused.

Thanks for any info in advance.