Many of the donations came from people who had never before given money to charity and many were made by young people, Development and International Cooperation Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said.

She told a press conference that Germany would host an international conference on early warning system for natural disasters in Berlin in March

The German government has made available 500 million euros until 2009 for the victims of the tsunami that caused devastation in southeastern Asia on December 26. The disaster claimed 537 German lives.