Victoria Beckham is planning to become an ambassador for an AIDS charity.

The former Spice Girls singer will work with the United Nations as a goodwill ambassador for their UNAIDS campaign after being inspired by a recent trip to South Africa, where she met with children stricken by the deadly disease.

A friend of the star told The Sun newspaper: ''She wants to give back by doing what she can.''

The fashion designer - who has children Brooklyn, 15, Romeo, 11, Cruz, nine, and two-year-old Harper with her spouse - visited Cape Town in February as part of the Born Free initiative, which tackles the issue of HIV being transmitted from mothers to their children.

Victoria - who turns 40 next week - and her husband are no strangers to charitable endeavours and last year donated thousands of pounds worth of designer clothes to their local Red Cross charity shop in west London, sparking lengthy queues as fans rushed to get their hands on a bargain.

And their generosity has been passed down to their children, with their eldest son opting to save his allowance in order to buy Thanksgiving gifts for homeless people.

A source previously said: ''Brooklyn told his mum and dad that he didn't want to receive presents for Thanksgiving this year. He said instead he'd like to donate them to people who need them more.

''Brooklyn asked one of the family bodyguards to take him to a Rite Aid store in Los Angeles so he could buy some first-aid kits to put in the charity parcels.''