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By Julie Moult In Los Angeles
Shoot out: Lady Gaga wears a conical bra with guns attached in the new video for her track Alejandro No-one could accuse Lady Gaga of being the shy and retiring type.
The outrageous singer has caused a storm with her latest video for new single Alejandro released today.
In the raunchy nine-minute film she is seen swallowing rosary beads while dressed as a nun in a red PVC habit, tying a lover to a bed and experimenting with bondage
Fans clamouring for the first glimpse of the much-hyped video, directed by legendary fashion photographer Steven Klein, crashed the site within minutes of its launch.
'She likes epics. It fits her personality,' said Klein in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine.
'We combined dance, narrative and attributes of surrealism.
'The process was to express Lady Gaga's desire to reveal her heart and bear her soul.'
Gone Gaga: The singer is out to shock in her latest video
Manhandled: The singer pays tribute to her gay friends in the song AlejandroGaga removes her top in one scene but covers her modesty by keeping her back to the camera.
The 24-year-old New Yorker cavorts with a collection of semi-naked men in the shoot which pays homage to Madonna's Vogue.
The Paparazzi singer even wears an updated version of Madonna's cone bra which doubles up as guns.
Kinky: Gaga takes control in these raunchy scenesIn an interview with Larry King, she said recently that the single was 'a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community.
'My admiration of their bravery and their love for one another and their courage in their relationships.
'It's something I have yet to nail on the head with a man.'
Gaga added: In the video I'm pining for the love of my gay friends, but they just don't want me to be with them.'
Controversial: She risks the wrath of the Catholic Church by swallowing rosary beadsThe single is the third from her best selling album Fame Monster.
But one person who will not be buying her single anytime soon is rival popstar Katy Perry who twittered: 'Using blasphemy as entertainment is as cheap as a comedian telling a fart joke.'
Gaga is no stranger when it comes to controversial videos.
Three months ago in the video for Telephone she stripped naked for a lesbian kiss in a prison cell.
This week she was named outstanding music artist at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Awards.
Sinner not a saint: Not quite the Sound of Music as Gaga reclines on a bed in red PVC habit with a semi-naked man holding a gun[endtext]