WASHINGTON - ALASKA Gov Sarah Palin, who has not faced the US media since her surprise pick to run for vice president 10 days ago, will begin giving interviews in a 'few days,' Republican presidential nominee John McCain said in remarks aired on Sunday.

As a newcomer to the national political stage, there are many questions about Mrs Palin's background that have been answered about the other candidates in the race who have been in the public eye for some time.

'Eventually she is going to have to answer questions and not be sequestered,' her Democratic counterpart, Sen Joe Biden of Delaware, said on NBC's Meet the Press. 'Eventually she is going to have to answer questions about her record.'

Mr McCain, who along with Mrs Palin was nominated last week at the Republican Party convention for the top spots in the Nov 4 election, was asked by Mr Bob Schieffer on CBS' Face the Nation when that might be.

'Within the next few days and I'm strongly recommending that she come on Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer,' Mr McCain said in an interview that was taped on Saturday.

But Mr McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, would not go that far.

'She'll agree to an interview when we think it's time and when she feels comfortable doing it,' Mr Davis said on Fox News Sunday.

McCain adviser Mark Salter said later on Sunday that Mrs Palin had agreed to a series of interviews with national media, likely starting on Thursday or Friday, and beginning with Mr Charlie Gibson of ABC.

But there has been no decision when she would hold a formal news conference, he told reporters aboard Mr McCain's plane.

Mr Salter said Mr Gibson would conduct multiple interviews with Mrs Palin in Alaska that likely would be aired in the coming week.

There would be no ground rules, he added.

Mr Davis, Mr McCain's campaign manager, said Mrs Palin has not been treated fairly by the media so far.

'Why would we want to throw Sarah Palin into a cycle of piranhas called the news media that have nothing better to ask questions about than her personal life and her children?' he asked.

'So until at which point in time we feel like the news media is going to treat her with some level of respect and deference, I think it would be foolhardy to put her out into that kind of environment.' Palin, a conservative with a strong anti-abortion and pro-gun record, is scheduled to participate in one vice presidential debate against Mr Biden on Oct 2.

Mr Biden, a Senate veteran, was asked if she would be tough to debate.

'There's a lot of very tough, smart women in the US Senate I debate every day so in that sense it's not new,' he said. 'But what is new is I have no idea what her policies are.' -- REUTERS