Police Search Michael Jackson's Ranch

Californian police were tonight searching the home of pop legend Michael Jackson after authorities issued a search warrant related to a criminal investigation, a police spokesman said.

Officers swarmed over the 45-year-old star's sprawling Neverland Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara, California, although local police refused immediately to disclose the reason for the search.

The Santa Barbara county district attorney's office was also involved in the action, a sheriff's spokesman added.

Jackson's spokesman, Stuart Backerman, was not immediately available for comment, although Sky News reported that the star was not currently at his California home.

The police search comes on the same day that Jackson's greatest hits collection, Number Ones, was released by Epic Records. The album features Jackson's new single, One More Chance. Later this month a Michael Jackson special, consisting mainly of old concert footage, is due to be aired on US TV.

The greatest hits album was intended to boost the fortunes of the increasingly reclusive and eccentric star, who became a multi-millionaire with international hit albums such as Thriller (1982), Bad (1987) and Dangerous (1991) but has suffered a career slide over the last 10 years.