Tiger Woods has appeared topless and lifting weights in the latest issue of Vanity Fair to hit the stands.

The fallen golf superstar posed for the shoot conducted by photography icon Annie Leibovitz before his November 27 fall from grace - when he crashed his Cadillac Escalade and subsequently had his private life publicly unravelled.

In the space of just over a month, Tiger Woods, has been deserted by a number of major sponsors - the latest of which was American telecom giant AT&T - and apparently his wife, as a string of his extra-marital affairs were revealed to the world.

Vanity Fair promotes the story as Tiger being photographed in 'prophetic isolation'.

The accompanying article, however, searches for clues in the 'wreckage' of Woods' life.

Pullitzer prize winner Buzz Bissinger reveals details of a 1997 interview with a 21-year-old Woods for GQ Magazine.

Bissinger describes the interview as a series of profane quips.

"What I can't figure out is why so many good-looking women hang around baseball and basketball," said Woods.

He is also reported to have unashamedly flirted with four women who attended his 1997 photoshoot while spouting a number of sexually charged jokes which involved lesbians and black men.

The GQ chat is thought to be the last candid interview Woods ever gave before PR giants IMG began a relationship with him.

It was reported in the media yesterday that Woods' wife Elin Nordegren had bragged to her friends of a $300m christmas present from her husband which may come as part of a massive divorce settlement from sport's first billionaire.