POP star Britney Spears said she wed a childhood friend in Las Vegas because she "wanted to see what it was like".

"Maybe that sounds silly, but in that moment I was with a friend I love dearly and I wanted to do something wild and crazy. I wanted to get married," she said.

Spears, 22, married Jason Allen Alexander in January after spending New Year's Eve partying with him.

The pair were childhood friends from Spears' home state of Louisiana.

Spears told Entertainment Tonight that alcohol had nothing to do with the marriage.

"I really wanted to see what it was like to be married," she said. "So that's why I did it."

The wedding was annulled about 50 hours after the couple exchanged vows.

Spears said the media "blew it way out of proportion".

But she added: "I want to think a little more about what I do from now on."

IF the dyed locks of Britney Spears were not proof enough she is exploring her dark side, a raunchy performance dealt out to her US fans this week certainly should be.

Britney plants one on her male companion during the Miami show as the cameras roll. Pic courtesy The Sun. Concertgoers and viewers of the Showtime cable channel were "treated" to a quite breathtaking display of simulated sex between Britney and a male dancer during her live show in Miami.

Her male companion - who at various times pashed Britney, caressed her breasts and buried his head between her thighs - wore nothing more than hotpants and boots.

Britney chose to wear little more, cavorting in a pink satin bra, matching knickers and a suspender belt replete with black stockings and topped of with a pair of stilettos.

The outrageous show, which is all part of the star's Onyx Hotel Tour, appears to be Britney's attempt to break the shackles of her teen fanbase, which latched onto the 22-year-old pop princess after hits like Oops, I Did It Again and Hit Me Baby One More Time.

Seeing Britney in her smalls wriggling seductively with the male form is also arguably the ultimate male fantasy.

Fantasy is a key phrase for Britney and the inspiration behind her latest tour.

"The Onyx Hotel is a unique, mysterious hotel powered by an onyx stone," claims her official tour website.

"Each guest who enters this hotel shines their own light into the onyx, and in return, makes their fantasies come to life.

"It's a vibrant, whimsical place where wondrous dreams are realised, and the darkest of secrets are revealed."

Britney's darkest secrets - aside from her taste in lingerie - also included a bit of "self-appreciation" while dressed in a PVC catsuit, a "routine" with a French maid, and sliding out of a robe and into a bath to sing Touch Of My Hand.

While Britney's sexy antics sealed her the No.1 spot on FHM magazine's top 100 sexiest women last week, her tactics might not strike such a happy cords with the parents of her younger fans.

However, with a sell out tour across the States about to traverse the Atlantic into Europe, and a No.1 hit with Toxic in several countries, she is unlikely to bat an eyelash, be it brunette or blonde.