The former rock star, Bob Geldof, has urged the world's leading banks to enter a charity trading game to raise money for starving people in Ethiopia.
Geldof, who raised an estimated £60 million for Ethiopian famine relief through his Live Aid concert in 1985, is backing the "Share the World" project, to be staged in Dublin on December 2nd.
Now involved in a number of business ventures, notably media ventures, Mr Geldolf said yesterday he believed major banks were ready to donate the £100,000 fee required to enter teams in the charity game.
"Judging by preliminary chats I have had with bankers, I know this will raise millions.
"It's a real chance for the financial sector to show that it has a big heart," he added in a statement.
The United Nations recently estimated that around 10 million Ethiopians were threatened by famine this year, after three years of poor rainfall.
Four-person teams from areas such as currency and equity dealing will battle it out to see who can make the most money during a six-hour fantasy trading session, where teams make notional money by responding to fictional news and events.
The team earning the highest sum will have a prize of £1 million to donate to a charity of their choice.
The format of the game will be familiar to traders who have taken part in similar fund-raisers.
Each team will be given a notional starting sum and will trade on the basis of information relayed to them during the session.
The project is the brainchild of Ms Anne-Marie McDaid, who is on secondment from Allied Irish Banks while she helps to organise the project.