JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Lawyers for former South African President Nelson Mandela are fighting a commemorative-coin importer over the use of Mandela's prison number as a telephone hotline. Private firm Investgold has been using the number to sell coins with Mandela's image on them, but the Nelson Mandela Foundation says it now wants to use the number to recruit volunteers for an AIDS awareness campaign. "It has upset Mr Mandela," foundation lawyer Don MacRoberts told Reuters Tuesday. "He is very involved in the AIDS campaign and is greatly concerned."

　　Mandela spent 27 years as a political prisoner of South Africa's apartheid government before winning the country's first democratic elections in 1994. His prison number, 46664, has become a well-known symbol, worn by the Springbok national rugby team and used by Mandela in his campaign to promote AIDS awareness.

　　Investgold lawyer Carl van Rooyen said his client's company, which imports the coins from Britain, had used the number for several years but was willing to cut a deal in which callers would be able to press a button to choose between speaking to the coin firm or the foundation. Van Rooyen added that the company believed in the goals of the volunteer program.