The 'She-Wolf' singer insists that sexual desire has more of an impact on the world than religion and believes people need to give in to their natural urges for the good of humanity.

She said: "I do think libido is the engine of the world. Forward or backwards. For good or ill. Sometimes when we repress our libido we regress. When we were in the Dark Ages, it was a question of humanity somehow managing to forget about itself. We put God in the centre of society, and people forgot about their own nature and desires. There was a huge deal of repression.'

The 32-year-old singer says that as she gets older, she is becoming increasingly comfortable with herself and her desires.

She explained: "Every day now I discover something new. Go through phases in which I feel much more in touch with my feminine side, in ways I never thought possible. I'm letting the woman inside of me speak, the desires of this woman, speak as loud as they can."

Shakira also believes society is changing to be more accepting but admits even she was surprised when she got positive feedback from an elderly nun over the raunchy video for her single 'She-Wolf'.

She added to Britain's Observer newspaper: 'Not too long ago my mum ran into one nun at home, who'd known me, and the nun told her, 'Oh my God, I watched the 'She-Wolf' video, and Shakira looks phenomenal in it! I love how she looks, how she does the splits, and how flexible her legs are.' This was an 80-year-old nun. Times are changing."