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SANTA BARBARA, Thursday (AFP)

Pop superstar Michael Jackson was ordered to surrender to police to face multiple counts of child molestation, authorities said.

Police have set a deadline for Jackson to give himself up and hand over his passport, Santa Barbara Sheriff Jim Anderson said at a news conference one day after a raid on the singer's Neverland Ranch in California.

Bail was set at three million dollars with 10 percent of the amount to be paid when the reclusive "King of Pop" surrenders.

The dramatic accusations against one of the world's top entertainers reignited suspicions that have been swirling around Jackson since he was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy 10 years ago.

Media reports and a Jackson family lawyer said the latest accusations had been made by a 12-year-old boy, but police and prosecutors refused to give details.

The eternally-young former child musical star dismissed the accusations, which the "Celebrity Justice" television show said were first made to his psychologist, "scurrilous."

"The outrageous allegations against Michael Jackson are false," said his spokesman Stuart Backerman.

"Michael would never harm a child in any way. These scurrilous and totally unfounded allegations will be proven false in a courtroom. Naturally, the implications are distressing to everyone who hears them, which is precisely the point." Backerman said Jackson and his attorneys had "already made arrangements with the district attorney to return to Santa Barbara to immediately confront and prove these charges unfounded."

Santa Barbara prosecutor Tom Sneddon said a judge had issued an arrest warrant for Jackson "on multiple counts of child molestation" following a three-month investigation.

"At this point in time Mr Jackson has been given an opportunity to surrender himself to the custody of the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department within a specified period of time."

The district attorney did not say when the deadline for Jackson's return was but indicated criminal charges would soon follow.

But as reporters and police cars swarmed around a private jet that flew into Santa Barbara, Backerman said he believed Jackson was still in Las Vegas where he has been filming a video for the past three weeks.

And police sources here said Jackson could turn himself in anywhere in the United States, provided he has the bail money.

Sneddon said Jackson was accused of violating section 288(a) of the California penal code, which bars "lewd or lascivious acts" with a child younger than 14.

Each count carries a jail term of between three and eight years on conviction. The allegations are sealed in an affidavit that will remain secret for 45 days.

Backerman said Jackson was bearing up under the strain. "He's fine, he's a fighting man."

The 45-year-old pop icon, who for years has been fighting off suspicions over his relationships with children, on Tuesday released his latest album of greatest hits called "Number Ones."

Sneddon strongly denied suggestions from Jackson entourage that the accusations were deliberately timed to coincide with the new album, saying authorities had no knowledge of the release when decided to arrest him.

Sheriff Anderson stepped up pressure on the singer by appealing for any other alleged child abuse victims of Jackson to come forward.

And a juvenile court must decide whether Jackson's three children will be removed from his care as the case proceeds, Sneddon added.

Backerman slammed the "levity" of the announcement of "these very serious charges" against the star.

The case comes 10 years after Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy at Neverland.

Jackson settled that case out of court with the boy's family, reportedly for more than 25 million dollars, and no criminal charges were brought.

But Sneddon the latest case was different from the first as that matter had led to a change in California law to allow a child to be required to testify against an alleged molester even if there is a civil settlement.

"I heard a lot of people saying it was another rip off by some family to get money. But this case is different. There will be criminal charges filed against Mr Jackson."

Police said about 70 investigators searched Jackson's Neverland Ranch, 32 kilometers (20 miles) north of Santa Barbara, for about 15 hours Tuesday. Two other locations in southern California were also searched.

Jackson's 1982 album "Thriller" is the biggest selling disc of all time, with sales in excess of 41 million copies.

But reports of Jackson's financial troubles have mounted over the past couple of years and he was hit by a flurry of lawsuits by former aides and promoters and rumours that he is all but bankrupt as record sales slump.

His public image was also damaged after he was filmed last year dangling his baby son from a fourth-floor hotel window in Berlin.

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