Italy's Berlusconi denies ever paying for sex

By Deepa Babington

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has denied ever paying a woman for sex, as he faces growing political pressure over lurid allegations that he slept with a female escort who was paid to attend his parties.

"I have never paid a woman," Berlusconi said in an interview with the Chi weekly owned by his Mondadori publishing empire.

"I've never understood what satisfaction there is other than that of conquering (a woman)," he told the magazine, according to excerpts sent to Reuters ahead of publication on Wednesday.

The popular premier's credibility has come under attack over a string of scandals related to his friendship with an 18-year-old girl and parties with young women, prompting him to angrily declare last week that he would not be forced out.

But the opposition and the influential Catholic Church have demanded Berlusconi clear up the facts after a corruption probe in southern Italy brought forward a female escort who said she spent the night with the premier and had recordings to prove it.

Berlusconi has accused the media of mounting a smear campaign before the G8 summit he will host next month.

His centre-right coalition has an ample majority in both houses of parliament. But it turned in a poorer than expected performance in European and local elections this month amid a media frenzy over the scandals surrounding his private life.