UPDATE 5-Baseball's Bonds charged with steroid lies

(Adds BALCO founder, MLB's Selig reactions)

By Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.S. baseball home-run king Barry Bonds used steroids and then lied about it to a federal grand jury, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday in charging him with perjury and obstruction of justice.

The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, stems from the investigation into the BALCO lab case, whose top figures served jail time for distributing steroids to top athletes.

The all-time Major League Baseball home run king has long been the focus of a federal probe over suspicion that he lied to the BALCO grand jury in 2003 when he told them he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.

A lawyer for Bonds said he would plead not guilty.

The seven-time Most Valuable Player surged late in his career to break one of the greatest records in American sports -- the career record for home runs. He surpassed Hank Aaron this summer and finished the season seven homers ahead at 762.

Although many fans wondered aloud about the source of his power at an age when most athletes see their talents fade, Bonds, 43, has long denied any link to performance enhancing drugs. Steroids give an athlete enhanced power, endurance and fast healing from injury.

"I take this indictment very seriously and will follow its progress closely," said league Commissioner Bud Selig.