Set text content of XML node

programming flash
1

I would like to know if it is possible to set the text content of a XML root node.

For a child node we can do this:

var xml:XML = <root><child /></root>;
xml.child = "kirupa";

When initializing we can do this:

var xml:XML = <root>{variable}</root>;

But is there any way to change the text content of the root node after initialization? This will not work:

var xml:XML = <root />;
xml = "test";

Thank you for your help!