9:39pm UK, Tuesday September 30, 2003

Pop pin-up Britney Spears has revealed she was the "man" in her relationship with chart hunk Justin Timberlake.

The singer - once the world's most famous virgin - said she slept with Timberlake after three years because she thought they would one day marry.

180 Britney Spears 2003 Teen Choice Awards

Britney: I'm the man

In an interview with GQ magazine, out on Thursday, the Baby One More Time star said having sex did not make her a "bad person".

Spears, 21, said: "I've always been a tomboy, I've always ended up being the man in the relationship.

"I know it sounds really weird, but it's very hard for me to let go and let the man take control."

Spears, who has shed her innocent image since first finding fame, recently enjoyed a brief fling with heavily tattooed rock hardman Fred Durst of limpbizkit.

The singer said she would not sleep with a man in the early days of a relationship, and prefers to simply kiss.

"When you're first dating a guy, you can't really go there with him. I think it's more sacred and special if you just kiss."