Taylor Swift has made a $10,000 donation to a Massachusetts school for deaf children after it was targeted in an internet prank.

Swift launched a Facebook.com competition to perform a gig at whichever school pulled in the highest number of votes and jokers nominated Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The local public school in Allston pulled in thousands of votes as pranksters organised a campaign to increase students' chances of winning, but contest bosses decided to remove Horace Mann from the running due to the way it took the lead.

However, Swift has shown off her generous side by handing over a personal donation of $10,000, which has been matched by four other sponsor companies, as well as a ticket for every student to her next local concert.

Bosses behind VH1's Save the Music program have also stepped up and pledged $10,000 in instruments for Horace Mann students.

Principal Jeremiah Ford tells The Boston Globe newspaper, "Are we the winner? Absolutely."