Martha Stewart left prison today and vowed to rebuild her homemaking empire after serving a five-month sentence for lying about insider share dealing.

The 53-year-old lifestyle guru and multi-millionaire businesswoman will spend the next five months under house arrest at her 153-acre estate in Katonah, New York. The conditions of her confinement allow her to leave her home to take part in two television shows a week, albeit while wearing an electronic ankle tag.

Ms Stewart issued a statement on her website saying that she had found prison a positive experience.

"The experience of the last five months ... has been life altering and life affirming," Ms Stewart said. "Someday, I hope to have the chance to talk more about all that has happened, the extraordinary people I have met here and all that I have learned."

In a return to her usual luxurious lifestyle, Ms Stewart was driven away from prison in a sports utility vehicle in the early hours (5.30am GMT), escorted by a a two-vehicle motorcade. Her vehicle passed by reporters and a small crowd of fans without stopping. Half a mile from the prison a cardboard sign said, 'Goodbye Martha. From fans and friends'.

She was taken to a nearby airport, where she boarded a private jet for the 60 minute flight to New York with her daughter, Alexis. Before boarding the plane she smiled and waved jauntily.

Instead of prison khakis, Ms Stewart was dressed for travel in a gray-and-white poncho, dark jeans and ankle boots. "Right now, as you can imagine, I am thrilled to be returning to my more familiar life," Ms Stewart said in her website statement. "My heart is filled with joy at the prospect of the warm embraces of my family, friends and colleagues. Certainly, there is no place like home."

She must report to prison officials in New York within 72 hours of leaving prison to be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet so her movements can be monitored.

Under the terms of her confinement, she will be allowed to leave her compound for up to 48 hours a week for her job, including working on her version of the hit reality reality show The Apprentice and continuing her role as creative talent for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She also will star in a revival of her homemaking show, and her company will resume paying her $900,000-a-year salary (£684,720).

Ms Stewart hopes to turn around the fortunes of an empire that produces everything from television shows and magazines to bed sheets and bakeware. In 2004, the company suffered a loss and its revenues sagged, but the stock price rose considerably during her prison stint as investors bet on a Martha comeback.

During her time at the federal women’s prison in Alderson, West Virginia, Ms Stewart resolutely stuck to her lemonade-from-lemons attitude and sought to imprint her style on the prison. She foraged for dandelions and other wild greens, concocted recipes in a microwave and even ate from a vending machine. She also participated in nightly yoga classes, spent time on crafts and writing and lost weight.

Her release came one day short of a year since her conviction in New York on charges stemming from her 2001 sale of nearly 4,000 shares of the biotechnology company ImClone Systems, run by her longtime friend Sam Waksal.

Prosecutors claimed Ms Stewart received a tip that Mr Waksal was unloading his shares ahead of a negative government report about an ImClone cancer drug. The stock tumbled in the following days, and Ms Stewart saved $51,000 ($38,800) on the sale.

Her lawyers argued the sale was based on a prearranged agreement with her stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, to sell once the stock dropped to $60 per share. Ms Stewart was convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government. Bacanovic is currently serving a five-month federal sentence for his role in the stock deal. Waksal was convicted on a separate charge of insider trading.

The case came in the midst of a federal assault on corporate corruption, and Ms Stewart is one of the most prominent figures to serve time in the wave of scandals. Rebuffed twice in her attempts to obtain new trials, she opted to enter prison early rather remain free pending her appeal.

An appeal hearing is scheduled for March 17 in the 2nd United States Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

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