Global superstar Madonna has signed a deal accepting undisclosed damages from the publisher of MailOnline at the High Court over a "serious invasion of privacy".

The case against Associated Newspapers revolves around the singer's four-year-old adopted twin daughters Stella and Estere, who joined her family from Malawi in February.

The 58-year-old star brought the case in January, following a MailOnline article revealing the girls' names, race, age, the fact they lived in an orphanage in Malawi, and Madonna's application to adopt.

Solicitor Jenny Afia told High Court judge Mrs Justice Nicola Davies that the article had caused "considerable personal distress and anxiety".

Ms Afia said the article was published at a time when Madonna would be "powerless" to protect the girls from harm.

"Their actions could, in her view, have threatened the integrity and/or outcome of the adoption process which would have had potentially life-changing implications for the girls, as well as for Madonna and her family," she said.

Ms Afia said that Associated had made a settlement offer involving the payment of damages and costs.

Madonna planned to donate the damages to The Mercy James Institute for Paediatric Surgery in Malawi, she added, so that "at least some good can come out of the situation."