Bono will receive the award in Dublin early in the new year

The singer, whose real name is Paul Hewson, has been given the honour for "his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work", it said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair congratulated him, telling the singer in a letter: "You have tirelessly used your voice to speak up for Africa."

The 46-year-old will receive the honour in Dublin early in the new year.

British ambassador David Reddaway will conduct the ceremony.

The embassy said the agreement of the Irish government was sought and granted for the Dublin-born singer to be honoured.

A statement on the band's website said the singer, who has lobbied Western leaders to increase aid to developing countries and cancel Third World debt, was "very flattered" to receive the award.

It added that he hoped it opened doors for his campaigning work against extreme poverty in Africa

Children are advised not to use mobile phones unless necessary

Mobile phone antennas emit electromagnetic fields that can penetrate the human brain.

But a Danish team found no evidence that this was linked to an increased risk of tumours in the head or neck as had been feared.

The study, of more than 420,000 mobile phone users, appears in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The researchers, from the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, looked at data on people who had been using mobile phones from as far back as 1982.

More than 56,000 had been using a mobile phone for at least 10 years.

They found no evidence to suggest users had a higher risk of tumours in the brain, eye, or salivary gland, or leukaemia.

A Professor sai d: "The results of this Danish cohort study are important as they have analysed data from mobile phone company records and do not rely on users remembering for up to 10 years in the past how often they used their phone.

"The large numbers of subscribers in the study mean we can have some confidence in the results that have not linked mobile phone use to a risk of any cancer, including brain tumours."