Madonna vows to keep her career going at 50

Madonna has been the reigning Queen of Pop for decades -- but turning 50 isn't going to see the singer give-up her crown anytime soon.

The 'Material Girl' superstar - who turns hits 50 in August, said the big 5-0 was just "another excuse to have another birthday party" and that more hit records and a new film career are just around the corner.

She said: "Well, I'm sure I wasn't put on this earth just to make records.

"There are a lot of things I want to achieve. I'd like to be a better human being.

"I'd like to be a better parent. I still have my children to raise. That's a big responsibility, I'm not done with that.

"I would like to direct more films and write them. I've only done one. To me that's the beginning of that career and I want to make more records. I love music."

Despite her age - Madonna is in fabulous shape - and looks better than many people decades younger. "I love to dance. I love to feel physically strong," she said. "I feel stronger now than maybe 20 years ago."

Madonna's new album, Hard Candy, will be released next month. But away from the recording studio, she and her movie director husband Guy Ritchie, 39, are raising 11-year-old daughter Lourdes and sons Rocco, seven, and adopted David Banda, two.

In a rare revelation about her fiercely guarded private, Madonna admitted Lourdes is growing up into a real "mini-me".

She said: "She has a very strong opinion of clothes and fashion and a strong personality so that'll be a challenge for me. She says she wants to be an actress." If she's anything like her mother, look out Hollywood.