The world according to 'She Wolf' Shakira

The Colombian pop star Shakira's video for She Wolf is, not surprisingly, a YouTube sensation. Dressed in a nude-effect leotard, she writhes on all fours inside a cage (above), wrapping her thighs behind her head and breathing heavily.

It's the sort of exposure that has helped make the 32-year-old from Barranquilla the fourth richest female pop star in the world, behind Madonna, Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand, with an estimated fortune of £25m or so.

To promote She Wolf, Shakira has just given an interview to the Guardian's pop writer Alex Petridis who admits it was a disconcerting experience - not just having to square the girl in front of him with the image from the video, but having a conversation with a pop star in which she quoted from Socrates ("a life without examination is a life that's not worth living") mentioned her love of Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man and explained her ability to get politicians to help her raise millions for charity with the line: "I know what I'm doing even when I'm wearing a pencil skirt."

Here's a taste of Shakira in full flow:

ON SHE WOLF: "[The song and video] are symbolic of the woman of our time who knows what she wants and defends her individual liberty with teeth and claws, who rebels against the limitations that society and our own culture places on her".

ON DEALING WITH POLITICIANS: "They don't get the photo op if they don't commit to something. That's how it works with me."

ON HER HOMETOWN: "Barranquilla is a big breast that fed and nurtured me as a human being."

ON HER FIRST ATTEMPTS AT SINGING: "[The school choirmaster] said I sounded like a goat and I would destabilise the entire choir if I was allowed to join."

ON HER EARLY POP CAREER: "When I was singing in Spanish, I had a more rock'n'roll attitude. I was very inflexible... There were things that would be completely unacceptable to me, like wearing a leotard, or showing my legs." Pause... "I was more of a purist then."

ON HER FAME: "I can't complain. I come from a city in Colombia that most people have never even heard of. When I look back, I can't believe the path behind me. I always feel like I haven't really done anything." ·