MUMBAI: Rolls-Royce has teamed up with the international music channel MTV to raise $25,000 for the Staying Alive Foundation, a global organisation dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV and Aids.

At last year's MTV European Music Awards in Lisbon, Rolls-Royce provided a new Phantom and invited artists to autograph the back seat. By the end of the event, more than 20 celebrities had signed, including Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay (Chris Martin pictured below), Nelly Furtado, Craig David, Bob Geldof, Shakira, Formula 1 driver Jenson Button, Foo Fighters and Borat, to name a few.

Subsequently, the seat was removed from the car and turned into a sofa by up-and-coming furniture designer Nick Gutfreund. The seat was then bought by Hard Rock for $25,000 with Rolls-Royce donating the money to MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation.

"We are delighted to have been involved with MTV and Hard Rock on such an innovative project," said Rolls-Royce chairman Ian Robertson. "And one that has raised a considerable sum of money to assist Staying Alive in their continued efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and Aids."

MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation (www.staying-alive.org) promotes and supports young people everywhere who are protecting themselves and their communities against the multiple threats posed by the spread of HIV and Aids. The Foundation does this by presenting the Staying Alive Award annually, to young individuals and youth groups who are focused on stopping the spread of HIV and who have demonstrated the potential to become future leaders.