Jackson was found not guilty of child abuse in June 2005

A spokesman for Jackson said the star was "furious" at the GQ article which features a series of photos featuring a Jackson impersonator.

The photos accompany an article called "Where's Michael?" which documents the writer's quest to find Jackson in Bahrain, where he now lives.

Jackson also wants the edition, out in the US, pulled from circulation.

'Misleading'

In one photograph, a Jackson look-alike sits in a darkened cinema with a row of children.

Another shows him standing in the desert draped in a black cloak and headscarf, with his trademark white glove.

In a statement, Jackson's representative, Raymone Bain, said: "Mr Jackson is furious that his image has been used in such a misleading way, and is demanding an apology from the editors of GQ, and its publisher, Conde Nast.

"Mr Jackson is also demanding that the magazines be pulled from newsstands."

Jim Nelson, GQ editor-in-chief, said: "It is very clear that the pictures in the story... are satirical, whether it's a picture of a Michael Jackson imitator sitting in a Bahraini cinema or an image of The Gloved One standing flamboyantly in the desert.

"Mr Jackson may feel that the person in the photographs is an 'impostor', but he is merely an imitator," said Nelson.

Jackson, 47, moved to the Gulf state of Bahrain after being acquitted of child molestation charges in California last year.