LILONGWE?US pop star Madonna arrived in Malawi on Sunday to begin proceedings to adopt a three-year-old girl, the second child she has taken into her family from the poor African nation.

A private jet carrying the 50-year-old pop star and her entourage landed on a runway reserved for cargo planes at Lilongwe's Kamuzu international airport.

The plane was kept away from waiting journalists and photographers but she was seen leaving the airport in a convoy of four vehicles.

Madonna's lawyer, Alan Chinula, is to file adoption papers in the Lilongwe high court on Monday for three-year-old Mercy James from an orphanage in southern Malawi, according to a court official. The singer saw the girl during her first visit to Malawi, in 2006 when she adopted a first child, David Banda.

David is meant to be on this trip and his biological father, Yohane Banda, told AFP on Sunday he would be allowed to see his son for the first time in three years.

"I have been told by officials of Raising Malawi that I will see my son. I am excited about it," Banda, 34, said in a telephone interview. Raising Malawi is a foundation set up by Madonna

He said he last saw David in 2006, when he also met Madonna at the high court where she filed adoption documents.

David was in an orphanage for the children of AIDS victims, where he was placed by his father following the death of his mother.

The pop singer caused controversy then as she was accused of using her fame and wealth to fast-track the process because Malawi does not have inter-country adoption legislation.

Madonna was given a provisional 18-month custody which was made permanent last May.

Madonna was quoted in local reports as saying she wanted David "to stay connected to his Malawi culture... to keep him closely connected to his cultural heritage."

But she has since been in the news because of her divorce from British film producer Guy Ritchie, with whom she had a son Rocco, now aged eight. Madonna also has a daughter Lourdes, 12, from another relationship.

There is also controversy surrounding this adoption.

According to the British press, Mercy James' grandmother is opposed to the adoption and wants custody of the girl when she is six. The Save The Children charity has also said the girl would be better off with her family or in her community.

Malawi is one of the world's poorest nations, with more than half of the population of 12 million living on less than one dollar a day. Madonna has a personal fortune estimated at several hundred million dollars.