Malawi's highest court will on Friday decide whether American pop icon Madonna can adopt a second child from the poor southern African nation, a court official said.

Madonna wants to adopt three-year-old Chifundo James, whose name translates as "Mercy", but a lower court blocked her application, saying that she had failed to meet an 18-month residency requirement in Malawi.

That requirement was waived when she adopted David Banda in 2006, and her lawyer in April asked the Supreme Court of Appeal to give its approval for the 50-year-old star to take Chifundo home.

"Please take note that the ruling on Madonna is on Friday, June 12 from 9:00 am (0700 GMT)," court registrar Joseph Chigona told AFP.

Chief justice Lovemore Munlo will deliver the ruling on behalf of two other judges from the Supreme Court of Appeal, Chigona added.

Malawi is one of the world's poorest nations, with more than half of the population of 12 million living on less than one dollar a day.

The singer, synonymous with hits "Material Girl" and "Like A Virgin", has a personal fortune estimated at several hundred million dollars.

Madonna has set up a charity, Raising Malawi, which provides support for orphans and vulnerable children.

She has already built a multi-purpose community centre at Mphandula village, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital Lilongwe, which looks after more than 8,000 orphans from scores of villages in the area.

Child rights activists have opposed Madonna's effort to adopt Mercy as a sibling to David whose adoption became official last year.

They argue that international adoption should be viewed as a last resort, even though Malawi is home to an estimated 560,000 children who have lost at least one parent to AIDS.

Source: AFP