  We report on the optical manipulation of the electron spin relaxation time in
a GaAs based heterostructure. Experimental and theoretical study shows that the
average electron spin relaxes through hyperfine interaction with the lattice
nuclei, and that the rate can be controlled by the electron-electron
interactions. This time has been changed from 300 ns down to 5 ns by variation
of the laser frequency. This modification originates in the optically induced
depletion of n-GaAs layer.
