International concert for tsunami aid

Americans Alicia Keys and Kelly Clarkson, Taiwanese rhythm and blues singer Jay Chou and Thailand's Tata Young are among the lineup for the "Asia Aid" show in Bangkok on February 3.

A taped performance by Jennifer Lopez as well as recorded messages from US rapper 50 Cent, Irish crooner Ronan Keating and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi will also feature in the MTV show, which aims to garner contributions from its audience of more than 400 million households.

Viewers will be able to send in their donations via mobile phone text messages and the MTV website.

MTV announced earlier this month it would turn its annual awards extravaganza, to be held in Bangkok, into a global benefit for tsunami victims called MTV Asia Aid.

"It's a way young people around the world can become engaged and help in the rebuilding effort as we found a lot of young people really wanted to help but didn't know how to go about it," MTV Networks Asia president Frank Brown told AFP Wednesday.

"The music industry at large also immediately understood that this could be a vehicle for them to bring attention to the need for aid in the recovery effort, so they were very supportive," he said.

Thai pop superstar Tata Young told AFP she had thrown her full support behind the event as she had travelled to the south on the day of the disaster to comfort her best friend, whose father had been killed by the tsunami.

"It was crazy, everything was torn. It was a picture that you don't want to remember, but you have to remember all the losses and the little children who have lost their parents and who now need our help," said the singer.

Most of the proceeds will be given to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), with donations collected in Thailand and India going to their respective government-linked funds.

The programme will air on all of MTV's global channels, but the network is also allowing international broadcasters to air it for free.

"MTV Asia Aid will help to maintain the world's attention on the devastation and loss that the tsunami has caused for millions of people," UNICEF deputy regional director Richard Bridle said in a statement.