Jacko: Time with kids 'innocent fun'

Michael Jackson says the time he spent with children at his Neverland ranch was nothing "but innocent fun".

Speaking in his first TV interview since he was indicted for child abuse, the singer said he loved inviting inner-city youngsters to the ranch - just like other men enjoyed buying fast cars and jets. He denied doing anything wrong, saying his celebrity status made him a target.

Although he is gagged by a legal order from talking about the child molestation case, in which he is also accused of plying a 13-year-old boy with alcohol, the singer said reports about the goings-on at Neverland were "fiction".

Speaking to Fox News interviewer Geraldo Rivera, he said: "I created Neverland as a home for myself and my children, it gave me a chance to do what I couldn't do when I was little.

"This allowed me to have a place behind the gates where the entire world I love is there."

Jackson, 46, said: "Other men have their Ferraris and their airplanes or helicopter or wherever they find their bliss. My bliss is

in giving and sharing and having simple innocent fun." The singer said Neverland provides a happy place for children "who haven't seen the mountains, who haven't been on a carousel, who haven't pet a horse or a llama. So if I can open my gates and see that bliss, an explosion of screaming laughter from the children."

The four-week process of jury selection began earlier this week in Santa Maria, California. Jackson denies charges of false imprisonment, child abduction and child molestation.