Madeleine's Parents Attend Prayer Vigil as Millions Offer Internet Support

Christian faith has continued to offer strength and support to the parents of four-year-old Madeleine McCann, as they attended another prayer vigil asking for her safe return.

|PIC1|Even though it is now more than two weeks since Madeleine went missing, in what police are treating as an abduction case, Kate and Gerry McCann have continued to hold onto the hope that their daughter may be safe and well.

In efforts to find the missing British girl, a Web site has been set up which immediately received 65 million visitors in just 48 hours since Wednesday.

Friends of the family have said that the overwhelming response to the website, combined with their religious faith have helped to maintain their hope.

Madeleine went missing on 3 May from her family's holiday apartment in the southern Algarve region of Portugal. She vanished after her parents left her and her brother and sister, both aged 2, alone in their room while they went to a nearby tapas bar inside their hotel complex.

Only one formal suspect, who has not been charged, has been identified by the authorities so far, 33-year-old Robert Murat, a British man who lives close to the McCanns' hotel. However, the Portuguese police say they are also following a number of other leads.

Meanwhile, a DVD entitled 'Find Madeleine' will be shown at the FA Cup final 19 May, as the new Wembley Stadium holds its first senior competitive match in London.

Money has poured in to a fighting fund set up for Madeleine on Wednesday, with reports saying the latest total was £73,505, which included a large £50,000 donation from Portsmouth Football Club.

The 'Find Madeleine' DVD has already been shown at the Uefa Cup final in Glasgow earlier in the week, and now the FA have confirmed they will show the film before kick-off and at half-time at Wembley, which will go out to a world television audience of up to 450 million people in 160 countries.

Father Paul Seddon, who baptised Madeleine, flew out to be with the family last week, and also led the vigil on Friday night. He called Madeleine a "precious child".

Earlier he told reporters: "Kate has a very deep-rooted faith and she turned immediately to God for hope and strength."

In efforts to spread Madeleine's image across Europe to help in the search, BP, Shell, Esso, Texaco and Total will distribute appeal posters at their petrol stations, and mobile phone companies Vodafone, O2 and Telefonica have launched a text campaign.

Others joining the campaign include supermarket chain Carrefour, McDonalds, Carphone Warehouse, Budget car rental, British Airways and BAA, which is displaying posters at all of its UK airports.

Royal Bank of Scotland is overseeing cash collections and Spain's Banco Santander and France's Credit Agricole and La Poste are distributing posters.

Coach operator National Express said posters of Madeleine would be placed in bus stations in 27 countries served by its Eurolines network.

Rewards totalling £2.5m have been offered to anyone with information leading to the four-year-old's safe return.

Details can be found at: www.findmadeleine.com