Prison no joke for Martha

She can transform even the dowdiest room with a few stylish touches, but Martha Stewart is not amused by suggestions that her talents might soon be put to good use on a prison cell.

"I'm afraid to be incarcerated. It's a lack of freedom. My freedom is taken away," she said.

Moments later she recovered her composure, saying she planned to write a "how to" book about being tried in court. "It's going to be a big best-seller," she said.

The exclusive interview on American television was the first time the the 6 3 - year- old domestic diva has spoken about the prospect of going to prison after her conviction last week for lying about her share dealings.

Stewart is currently free on bail while her lawyers prepare an appeal, but some Wall Street observers have said it would be better for her business empire to get the sentence out the way quickly.

Looking tense and tired the multi-millionaire, who has been a role model for millions of American women, admitted she had not yet made up her mind about whether to launch an appeal.

"There's a conundrum. My company needs me. I would like to get back to work. I would like this to be over. There has been a long, drawn-out process.

"On the one hand business, Wall Street, would like to see an end to all this."

But, she added: "I, as a person with rights, with a belief in the judicial system and fairness, think that an appeal is the way forward. So what do I do?"

The businesswoman also spoke of her shame at the prison sentence: "It is shameful, it is shameful to me," she confessed.

She also attacked her critics, claiming she was being punished for who she is rather than what she has done. "Many people have said it is because I am a woman. Many people have said it is because I am a successful business person. I don't know for sure." She added: "If I were a man, no-one would say I was arrogant."

Defending the single-minded way she built her half-billiondollar publishing and TV empire from scratch, Stewart hit back: "I wish I were perfect. I wish I were the nicest, nicest, nicest person on earth. But I'm a businesspersonin addition to a creatorof domestic arts.

In the hour-long interview, Stewart spoke openly for the first time about the two-and-a-half-year ordeal that began when she sold shares in drug company ImClone.

Prosecutors claimed she had been tipped off by ImClone's chief executive, Sam Waksal - an old friend - but stopped short of charging her for insider dealing because the evidence was too weak.

Instead she was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, and will serve five months in prison and another five months under house arrest in one of her five properties.