Apple joins Bono's campaign for Africa with special Red iPod

Apple has become the latest company to back Bono's Product Red campaign to fight Aids in Africa. The Californian company has produced a special-edition Red iPod nano and will donate $10 (£5.50) for each one sold to charity.

The special 4GB iPod, which can store 1,000 songs, is available for £129, the same price as conventional versions. Bono, lead singer of U2, said: "We're ecstatic that Apple is giving their customers the choice to buy a Red iPod nano and help women and children affected by HIV/Aids in Africa."

Money donated to the campaign goes to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria. American Express, Gap, Converse and Giorgio Armani became the first corporate partners of the scheme when it began in January. Since then, Motorola has designed a Red phone, which generates a one-off £10 for each phone and 5 per cent of call revenues to charity for no extra cost to the user.

Armani launched a Red capsule collection during London Fashion Week last month. He also edited a special edition of The Independent, which donated half of all revenues. The edition carried an interview with George Clooney and articles by Bill Gates, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was the second collaboration between Red and The Independent, which in May was edited by Bono.

At the start of the year, the Global Fund said that only $5m of its $4.7bnfunding had come from corporate donors.