Madonna has launched an appeal after a Malawi court prevented her from adopting a second child from the African country.

The singer's Malawi-based lawyer Alan Chinula said: "I just filed the notice of appeal this afternoon on instructions from my client."

A high court earlier ruled that Madonna would not be allowed to adopt four-year-old Mercy James. She adopted a 13-month-old boy David Banda from the southern African state in 2006.

Her latest bid was rejected because the singer was not a resident of Malawi, a court representative said.

An Aids epidemic in Malawi has produced more than 1 million orphans.

In her ruling, Judge Esimie Chombo warned against celebrity adoptions, saying they could lead to child trafficking.

Malawian civil society groups had opposed the adoption attempt and a local human rights activist said it would amount to child trafficking. Rights groups accused authorities of giving the pop star special treatment.

Earlier, Malawian information minister Patricia Kaliati said Madonna had helped in the country and was a worthy mother.

She said: "Madonna has been good to us, she is supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country and she has proved that she can take care of David.

"Very few rich and famous people can take time to fly all the way to Malawi to support our children - we support her adoption process."

Madonna, accompanied by David, arrived in Malawi on Sunday ahead of the court examination of her application.

The star, who was divorced last year from British film director Guy Ritchie, is one of the most successful singers of all time, with album sales of more than 200 million.

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