Sir Elton opened the Body Positive centre in London on Friday. It is aimed at encouraging HIV positive people who have benefited from new combination drug therapies to return to work.

Sir Elton is a patron of the Body Positive charity and also a director of his own Aids foundation.

Course

The centre will offer a Skills for Success course, the first NVQ accredited course for people who take a career break because of HIV.

It will also give advice on legal, medical and financial issues for those who have just been diagnosed with the disease.

Body Positive's chief executive, Marcus Stephan, said: "Everyone involved in the HIV field recognises that the needs of those affected by HIV are no longer the same as 10 years ago.

Drug therapy

"Recent developments in treatments mean that quality support which enables people with HIV to make informed choices is the most valuable service anyone can offer."

Combination drug therapy has been effective in reducing the virus which causes Aids to almost non-existent levels in many sufferers, although it does not work for all people and it is unclear what its long-term effectiveness will be.

Its success has led to changes in the funding of Aids, with many health authorities and local authorities cutting grants to Aids charities and concentrating on funding drugs.