Lilongwe  - A Malawian court is expected to rule today on a controversial bid by US popstar Madonna to adopt a second child from the impoverished southern African country.

Madonna's application to adopt four-year-old Chifundo (Mercy) James from the orphanage where she took custody of her son David Banda at 13 months in 2006 was heard in Malawi High Court in the capital Lilongwe on Monday.

Judge Esimy Chombo had reserved his ruling until Friday.

Madonna is said to have met the little girl two years ago in the same Tikondane orphanage south of the commercial hub Blantyre, where she and then-husband Guy Ritchie met David.

That adoption was shrouded in controversy when it emerged that David's father was still alive and that the government had skirted its own rules on adoptions by non-residents in granting the couple direct custody of the infant.

David, and Madonna's two biological children, Lourdes and Rocco, are with her Malawi. David met with his father at the star's lodge.

Madonna's return to Malawi, where she has established a charity that supports orphans, has sparked fresh debate between ordinary Malawians and non-governmental organizations.

While most Malawians support her bid to give a child a better life, civil society organizations have accused the pop star of using her influence to speed the adoption and manipulate the country's weak adoption laws. .

Nearly half of Malawi's population of 13 million lives on less than a 1 dollar a day. The United Nations children's agency UNICEF estimates half of the country's around 1 million orphans have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.

Ernest Mahwayo, president of Young Christian Workers, told the German Press Agency dpa he saw nothing wrong with Madonna adopting "children who are sleeping on empty stomachs."

"When she adopted David Banda people talked a lot but did not offer any alternatives. Today, we hear David is a big boy and coping very well overseas. We should be thanking Madonna for falling in love with Malawi," he said. (dpa)