Shakira wants to start a family after her next tour.

The 'She Wolf' hitmaker - who is in a long-term relationship with her fiancee Antonio De La Rua - is hoping to settle down and have children soon, but knows she needs to fulfil her work commitments first.

She said: "Do I have any plans for children? Little wolves? Yeah, of course. I'd really like to have kids, but first I need to go on tour and release this new album - and then we can sit down and talk about it."

Despite her family plans, the 33-year-old star insists that getting married is no longer high on her list of priorities, even though she and Antonio got engaged over four years ago.

She told the Big Issue magazine: "Maybe 15 years ago, I'd dream about wearing a white gown, a wedding cake and a room full of guests and me feeding them canapes. Now I dream about growing old with the person I love. I have different priorities."

Shakira, who met Antonio nine years ago in a restaurant in Argentina, has previously admitted she knew straight away he was 'The One'.

She said recently: "The minute I walked in, I saw him sitting, and I thought, 'That man is for me, he's the man of my life.' I kept staring at him until I got to meet him that night. And then I just followed my intuition and everything worked out. Frankly, meeting him that night was like winning the lottery."