Pop superstar Michael Jackson's long-awaited child molestation trial officially got underway on Monday with the start of the selection of the jury that will decide his fate. Judge Rodney Melville took the bench at the start of jury selection, the first phase in what is expected to be a six month trial that could see the "King of Pop" jailed for 20 years if convicted, an AFP reporter saw. Jackson, dressed from head-to-toe in white, stood solemnly between his lawyers as he faced the start of the proceedings that could cost him his freedom, career and financial security.

"I can assure you that we are committed to trying this case in the most expeditious way possible and in all fairness," Melville told the court.

The first group of around 150 prospective panelists had earlier been led into the courtroom to take their seats ahead of the start of the process aimed at picking 12 fair-minded jurors and eight reservists for the trial.

Melville welcomed them to the case of "The people of California against Michael Joe Jackson," warning them that the trial would take a total of six months and that their lives would be seriously disrupted. "I assume you would rather be somewhere else right now, instead of here," he told the panelists. "I know no-one volunteered to be here," he said.

"We do not allow politicians, bureaucrats or even judges to decide these trials. Our system is envied by people in other countries who don't have this system," he said When the judge asked the potential jurors who were ready to serve to show themselves, nearly all of them raised their hands.

The judge then warned that panellists would not be fully paid by their employers during the course of the trial and told them that after opening remarks, the trial would run from Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm with only a snack break rather than lunch.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005