STUNG by one gibe too many about whether his nose is melting, Michael Jackson is suing the Daily Mirror for alleging that he has been left hideously disfigured by plastic surgery.

Mr Jackson's lawyers say that he is ready to appear in court so that a British jury can see for itself that he is not ``a scarred phantom whose face is covered with scar tissues, with a hole in his nose, one cheek higher than the other and an oddly sagging chin''. They say that Mr Jackson, 33, was deeply upset by the articles, published late last month and early this month and accompanied by close-up photographs by the Mirror's Ken Lennox, who is also being sued.

Bertram Fields, Mr Jackson's Los Angeles lawyer, announced the action yesterday, saying: ``I've been with Michael dozens of times in the past year, close up in brightly lit rooms without make-up. I can tell you flatly that he is not scarred, that there is no hole in his nose and that he is not disfigured in any way. That's all rubbish. Michael will stand in a witness box and let the jury see for itself. We are seeking an unreserved and total apology from the Daily Mirror and very substantial damages.''

Julia Palca, Mr Jackson's British lawyer, said: ``Yes, he has had plastic surgery, but that's not the point of this libel action. Plastic surgery is a matter of personal taste. The point of this action is, is he a disfigured phantom with a scarred face? And most definitely he is not. He is deeply upset by the slurs, which could do great damage to his professional career.''

So will the jury be asked to look at him closely to see if he has a hole in his nose? ``I suppose so,'' she said. She also disclosed that when Mr Jackson begins the British leg of his world tour in London on Thursday, no photographer will be given a pass for a camera lens longer than 300mm. The rule will apply to all future appearances.

Mr Jackson said in a statement that he found it hard to understand why a newspaper would want to publish ``such demonstrably false and cruel accusations about another human being when there is so much really important news in the world''.