Dressed in a gold sequined mini shift dress and over-the-knee black satin boots, Madonna looks every bit the international superstar and global sex siren rather than your average mother of three facing the dreaded 50-year milestone.

But then the Queen of Pop does have a team of six people feverishly working on her hair and make-up to ensure she looks the part for this long-awaited interview about her family and her new album Hard Candy.

'I play music for my kids, for my husband and I play it for my friends,' Madonna, 49, confides. 'My kids love to dance; I have three fabulous dancing children.'

And it is through her kids, Lourdes, 11, Rocco, seven, and recently adopted two-year-old David, that Madonna is finding out more about Australia - because their nanny is an Aussie.

David has even been seen wearing an Australian flag T-shirt. And her family might get the ultimate Aussie culture lesson this year - a trip Down Under. 'We've been talking about it,' she says.

'I'm very grateful to my fans in Australia, so if you promise to throw lots of parties I might show up!'

Madonna's latest album - the 11th studio album from the Grammy-award-winning singer and songwriter, who has sold more than 200 million albums over two decades - reveals a lot about Madonna's relationship with husband Guy Ritchie, 39.

In the song Miles Away it's a theme of absence making the heart grow fonder. Madonna says: 'It's easier to say I love you, when you're 6000 miles away.' Others explore the relationship in even more intimate terms.

'English men are different,' Madonna says. 'They don't like expressing their feelings.'

Other lyrics on the album - 'I should just walk away/I keep on coming back for more' and ‘You always love me more/Miles away' - highlight her husband's 'emotional availability'.

So what's the secret behind their seven-year marriage?

'Learn to say sorry - even when it wasn't your fault,' Madonna explains.

Sonia on Madonna:

I waited more than 10 years to interview Madonna. I finally arrived at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, but I was absolutely terrified that something would go wrong.

People were stressing out just because Madonna had asked
for a coffee and the megastar had just kicked out a German reporter who'd flown 10,000km but only lasted one minute for asking a 'stupid question'.

When I nervously admit that I don't know whether to faint or vomit, Madonna bites back with: 'Well, I can deal with fainting, just not the vomit.'

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