LILY ALLEN - ALLEN: 'THIRD WORLD KIDS ARE HAPPIER THAN THOSE WITH MONEY'

ALLEN: 'THIRD WORLD KIDS ARE HAPPIER THAN THOSE WITH MONEY'

British pop star LILY ALLEN insists kids in poorer nations are happier than those in the developed world. The LDN singer also feels celebrities such as former SPICE GIRL VICTORIA BECKHAM are bad role models for youngsters in the UK - and believes global corporate consumerism embodies "all that's wrong with youth culture" through its aggressive marketing techniques. She says, "When kids are looking through gossip magazines, and they see Posh Spice with these GBP800 bags, they don't know what to do. "Then people go on things like POP IDOL (UK version of TV talent show AMERICAN IDOL) and get rinsed by SIMON COWELL. I did a lot of travelling when I was 17,18, and I went to places like Cambodia and their quality of life is bad, but they keep smiling. "The fact they don't have BMWs and MCDonalds shoved in their faces is a good thing. That's what's wrong with youth culture today."