Okay to share bed with kids: Jackson

In his first interview since his arrest on child molestation charges, pop star Michael Jackson has said he still considers it okay to share his bed with children.

"Of course. Why not? If you're going to be a paedophile, if you are going to be a Jack the Ripper, if you're going to be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That I am not," he said during an interview on CBS television network's 60 Minutes programme.

He vehemently denied the charges against him. "Before I would hurt a child, I would slit my wrists," Jackson said when asked about the charges brought against him that he molested a young boy.

Jackson, 45, was arrested on November 20 and is out on a $3 million bail. He is charged with seven counts of performing lewd acts on a child under 14 years of age and two counts of administrating an intoxicating agent to him.

CBS released parts of the interview conducted in his Los Angeles hotel room on Thursday.

Referring to police search of his Neverland Ranch, he said it was overdone and so it violated his privacy. "It's not a home anymore. I'll only visit."

He also discussed his time in police custody and talked about the injury he said was inflicted on him by the police when they handcuffed him.