Madonna denies using fame to adopt

She confirmed she was trying for custody of a young girl but said she was following normal procedures.

And the 50-year-old pop superstar explained why she took her three-year-old son David, also adopted from Malawi, to visit his biological father Yohane Banda for the first time since he left the country in 2006.

"Madonna is committed to maintaining an ongoing relationship with David's Malawian roots," said a spokeswoman.

Madonna arrived in Malawi this week with David, her 12-year-old daughter Lourdes and eight-year-old son Rocco. She confirmed she is trying to adopt a girl named Chifundo "Mercy" James who is about four years old.

The girl's 18-year-old mother was unmarried and died soon after she gave birth, according to the child's uncle, John Ngalande. Her father is believed to be alive but has little contact with his daughter, he said.

A coalition of human rights organisations have criticised Madonna's adoption attempts, saying that adoption should be the last resort and that children need to be taken care of by their own family.

"Mercy James is a child who has her extended close family members alive and we urge Madonna to assist the child from right here," a statement from them said.

But others have said that the adoption would give enormous opportunities to the child that she would be unable to achieve in the impoverished African nation. Malawian law is vague on foreign adoptions. Regulations stipulate only that prospective parents undergo an 18 to 24-month assessment period in Malawi, a rule bent when Madonna was allowed to take David to London.

Madonna first travelled to Malawi in 2006 while filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and Aids crisis. Her Raising Malawi organisation, founded in 2006, raises funds to provide food, shelter, education and health care for children.