11 JULY 2003
Britney Spears has decided upon a radical change of image, if her latest photo-shoot is anything to go by. The 21-year-old, who is best known for her squeaky-clean persona, has appeared in a series of raunchy photographs for W magazine.

The pop princess, who enjoyed phenomenal success with her first two albums, built her reputation on an image of pigtailed innocence. But her record sales have been flagging of late, and the singer recently promised to take her career in a radical new direction.

And it would seem Britney is keeping her word, as she gave a candid interview to go with the sizzling pics. Asked about her romance with N'Sync star Justin Timberlake, she says "the most painful thing I have ever experienced was that break-up".

"We were together so long and I had this vision. You think you're going to spend the rest of your life together. Where I come from, the woman is the homemaker, and that's how I was brought up - you cook for your kids."

The experience has helped her mature, however, and nowadays she is concentrating on her emotional independence. "I need my single time," she says, "to learn to be self-loving."

Britney also admits she shared a kiss with Irish hunk Colin Farrell, though she says it was nothing serious: "Yes I kissed him. Of course I did! He's the cutest, hottest thing in the world."

There is also a new album in the pipeline, which promises to be quite unlike anything we have heard from her before.