Pregnant Shakira prefers charity donations over baby gifts

Heavily pregnant Shakira has asked fans to make charity donations in her honor in lieu of baby shower gifts.

The Hips Don't Lie hitmaker is due to give birth to her first child any day now, and she has pro-actively reached out to devotees to request that they use their money to help those less fortunate and donate between $5 to $110 to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), of which she is a global ambassador.

She and her soccer star boyfriend Gerard Pique have set up a special page at shakira.socialtoaster.com for their "world baby shower to help UNICEF save children's lives".

A statement posted online reads: "To celebrate the arrival of our first child, we hope that, in his name, other less privileged children in the world can have their basic needs covered through gifts and donations. Thank you for sharing this unforgettable moment with us."

"Every expectant parent around the world shares all the same hopes and dreams for their children that we do. Yet many don't share the same opportunities. Together we know we can change that."

The Colombian beauty has also used the opportunity to unveil a series of maternity portraits, including a sexy black-and-white image in which she appears with a topless Pique as they cradle her bulging belly.

Sharing the touching photo with her Twitter.com followers, she writes, "We'd like to celebrate the imminent birth of our first child with all of you."