NEW YORK – Carla Bruni-Sarkozy thinks she could learn a thing or two from Michelle Obama.

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, France's first lady said she'd rather take Michelle Obama's advice than the other way around.

Bruni-Sarkozy, who's never met the wife of President-elect Barack Obama, said Wednesday: "She looks like she's a great, strong, intelligent woman."

The model-turned-songstress hasn't scrapped her musical career since marrying Nicolas Sarkozy in February. She performed music from her latest folk-pop album, telling interviewer Matt Lauer to call her by her first name instead of her formal title.

Said Bruni-Sarkozy: "I thought that maybe for a woman nowadays, it's important to have a job and to keep it."

Source: AP