Huge audience for all-star telethon

Actors Cruise and Stallone took pledges

Up to 89 million people in the US watched music and screen stars perform and take pledges during a charity telethon.

They tuned in for at least some of the two hour event to help victims of the plane attacks in the US.

Celine Dion sang God Bless America

According to Neilsen Media Reserach nearly 60 million watched the entire show as actors like Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks led appeals for donations.

Organisers of the event say they will not know until Monday exactly how much money was raised.

The telethon logged 300,000 calls in the first 15 minutes and major organisations have pledged significant sums.

Computer giant Microsoft has pledged $10m (£6.86m), media company Vivendi $5m (£3.43m) and United Parcel Service $4m (£2.7m), to name just some of the corporate donors.

Actors involved

Jim Carrey

Tom Cruise

George Clooney

Cameron Diaz

Robert De Niro

Clint Eastwood

Calista Flockhart

Kelsey Grammer

Julia Roberts

Tom Hanks

Will Smith

Robin Williams

Brad Pitt

Meg Ryan

Jack Nicholson

Adam Sandler

Goldie Hawn

Danny DeVito

Al Pacino

John Cusack

Salma Hayek

Chris Rock

Sylvester Stallone

Sarah Jessica Parker

Conan O'Brien

Cuba Gooding Jr

Lucy Liu

Jimmy Smits

Dennis Franz

"We want to support the recovery effort in every way that we can," said Rick Belluzzo of Microsoft.

Singer Bruce Springsteen opened the event with a new song, My City in Ruins, and he was followed by performers including Stevie Wonder, U2, Sting and Mariah Carey.

The stars told poignant stories of innocent people killed and heroic acts, while former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali appealed to people not to target all Muslims in the wake of the attacks.

Tom Cruise was among the stars making appeals, while Brad Pitt, Meg Ryan and Jack Nicholson took phone calls and donations from the public.

Many stars have themselves donated sums to help the victims of the attack.

Actress Julia Roberts donated $2m (£1.37) and actor Jim Carrey sent $1m (686,000).

The show, called America: A Tribute to Heroes was broadcast on more than 35 TV networks and 8,000 radio stations in the US alone, and in more than 200 countries around the globe, including on BBC1 and ITV in the UK.

Ali appealed not to brand all Muslims as terrorists

Robert De Niro and Will Smith also took part in the show, which was a rare collaboration between the major US TV networks.

Viewers were encouraged to phone in to pledge money during the show. Donations could also be made through the show's website.

Sylvester Stallone, John Cusack, Adam Sandler, Cindy Crawford and Al Pacino took pledges.

Muhammad Ali made an emotional appeal on behalf of fellow Muslims for tolerance, at a time when there have been attacks and abuse against followers of Islam.

"I'm a Muslim. I've been a Muslim for 20 years. I want the world to know the truth about Islam," Muhammad Ali said.

Musicians involved

U2

Bon Jovi

Mariah Carey

Sheryl Crow

Celine Dion

Paul Simon

Bruce Springsteen

Stevie Wonder

Neil Young

Enrique Iglesias

Wyclef Jean

Billy Joel

Alicia Keys

Willie Nelson

Dixie Chicks

Faith Hill

Billy Joel

Tom Petty

"I wouldn't be here to represent Islam if it were the way the terrorists make it look...Islam is for peace."

The live special was broadcast from two studios in New York and Los Angeles, although producers refused to reveal the exact locations because of security fears.

The United Way's September 11th Fund will benefit from the donations.

The show will be shown on BBC One in the UK at 2220 BST on Sunday night.