Opening statements in Jackson trial

Michael Jackson arrived at a California courtroom yesterday for opening statements in his child molestation trial at the start of what promises to be a long and bitter court fight that could end in prison for one of the world's best-known entertainers.

Wearing a dark suit with a red armband, Jackson pulled up to a rain-soaked Santa Maria, California, court in his black sports utility vehicle. He waved to a handful of supporters from beneath an umbrella held by a member of his entourage.

Prosecutors are expected to contend that Jackson is a serial abuser of young boys, while defence lawyers will tell jurors that the 46-year-old pop star was framed by the money-hungry mother of his young accuser.

The trial will offer a rare glimpse into Jackson's bizarre and often controversial lifestyle and his lawyers have promised to call as witnesses some of the most famous people in America - including basketball star Kobe Bryant, Tonight Show host Jay Leno and actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Jackson is charged with molesting a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Valley Ranch, which sits in the foothills of the central California coast above Santa Maria. He is also accused of plying the boy with wine disguised in soda cans in order to seduce him and conspiring to commit child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment.

Jackson has pleaded innocent. If convicted of all 10 charges, he faces nearly two decades in prison.

The case pits Jackson and his legal team against the man he and his supporters consider his longtime nemesis, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon.

Jackson and Mr Sneddon have been at odds since the mid-1990s, when another young boy accused the performer of molestation. Jackson and the boy's family settled out of court and no criminal charges were ever brought.

The self-proclaimed King of Pop once recorded a song that served as a thinly veiled attack on Mr Sneddon and defense lawyers tried unsuccessfully several times to have the veteran prosecutor removed from the case, claiming he was "blinded by zeal" to put Jackson behind bars.

"(Mr) Tom (Sneddon) is an issue and he realises that to a certain extent," said former Santa Barbara County Sheriff Jim Thomas, a friend of Mr Sneddon who is following the case as a media analyst. "(But) He believes he's in charge of this investigation and he'll stand up in opening statements and tell the jury what he expects to prove to them."

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville has not yet decided if prosecutors can present evidence about the earlier sex abuse allegations against Jackson during the trial.

A jury of eight women and four men, including one woman whose sister was raped at the age of 12 and another whose grandson is a registered sex offender, was selected to render a judgment against Jackson.

Reporters from around the world have descended on Santa Maria for the trial, which is expected to last up to six months.