CONDOLEEZZA RICE hailed Blackburn an example to the world that your past doesn't have to guide your future' in an exclusive interview with the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

Dr Rice said her trip to the town, which was continuing today, was proof of what can be achieved even when places have had difficulties' and that her experience in Lancashire served to strengthen her belief that the world should do all it could to help other areas.

And she pledged to make sure she told many people in Washington about Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's constituency.

She said: "I have been very impressed by everything I have seen. It is not how I expected it to be.

"I have seen clean factories, tidy houses and a lot of nice countryside. As secretary of state, I wanted to see an area away from London in the same way I want foreign secretaries to see where I am from in Birmingham, Alabama.

"I will certainly tell people about Blackburn, in the same way secretary Straw has about Birmingham."

Speaking in the Presidents' Lounge at Blackburn Rovers, Dr Rice said she had been particularly impressed with the student council meeting she watched while at Pleckgate High School earlier in the day.

As someone who grew up in a Southern state of America while segregation was still part of everyday life, she did not have a white classmate until she was 13.

She said: "I thought the student council was excellent, and certainly seems to get more things done than I remember at school. I was very impressed by the way they articulated their concerns.

"It is very important young people grow up in a multi-cultural society and that they respect and understand each other's beliefs.

"Their questions were excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there."

Dr Rice also said she had no concerns about the protests over the Iraq war which have followed her visit so far even though some of the chants were very personal, and some leaflets dubbed her a childkiller. She said: "People have a right to make their opinions known, it is part of the fabric of democracy.

"That fabric is strong enough for everyone to have their say.

"I would ask people to consider the alternatives to what we did.

"People did protest, I am used to that, it happens wherever I go, but I will also remember the people who came out of their houses and their stores and waved flags at me and waved. It has been a very warm welcome."

Her trip to Blackburn Rovers resulted in her receiving a second Blackburn Rover shirt she received her first when Mr Straw visited Birmingham last year. The new shirt, given to her by Rovers manager Mark Hughes, has the name Rice written on the back, and she admitted the fact it was from the players gave it the edge over Mr Straw's earlier offering.

Dr Rice, whose dedication to fitness is well-documented in the USA, said: "I shall be wearing it when I do my exercise. My office has a lot of sporting memorabilia in it too.

"I will also be looking out for how Blackburn Rovers do."