MADONNA - MADONNA: I'M A TEACHER

Queen of Pop MADONNA sees herself as a teacher - because she now consciously imparts knowledge on those around her.

The singer, writer and icon has become a devoted follower of the Kabbalah faith, a branch of Jewish mysticism - and is glad it has helped her to help others.

She explains, "If I taught people earlier in my career, it was by default. I wasn't consciously thinking of sharing in any way. I was just showing off. I felt full of myself. Now I'm a teacher."

And the HOLLYWOOD hitmaker rejects claims her on-stage smooches with BRITNEY SPEARS and CHRISTINA AGUILERA at this year's (03) MTV VMA AWARDS were merely a publicity stunt.

She explains to website PAGESIX, "We were playing with lots of post-modern iconography."