MOMBASA, Kenya, Dec 18 (AFP) - Campaigners in Kenya have come up with an ingenious new weapon in the fight against HIV and AIDS: the minibus.

Across Africa, minibuses are the most popular form of public transport, especially in towns and cities.

In Kenya, where they are called matatu, or threes, because a ride once cost three shillings, such vehicles are more than just a way of getting around: their blaring music, garish colours and witty topical names, their maddeningly brazen driving and daredevil fare-collectors place them at the core of urban pop culture.

This is reflected in their paintwork, which tends to depict the likes of Celine Dion, Bob Marley, Michael Jordan, Taribo West, Tiger Woods, Venus Williams and sportswear labels such as Adidas, Nike, Fubu and Caterpillar.

As such, matatus make for an excellent marketing medium, a fact that so far seems to have escaped the notice of commercial advertisers.

Two US organisations, the International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH) and Family Health International (FHI), have now recognised that the matatu could play an invaluable role in the fight against HIV and AIDS, which kills some 500 people every day in Kenya.

"Instead of focussing on role models, such as star footballers, musicians or athletes, the messages spread on matatu body paintworks should now focus on the dangers of HIV/AIDS," ICRH project manager Mark Hawken told AFP on Monday.

Government and UNAIDS statistics estimate that one in every eight young Kenyans under the age of 21 is HIV positive, prompting the authorities to work with various stakeholders and donors in the country's fragile health sector in an effort to reverse the worsening infection trend.

Project initiators are hoping that matatu owners and operators will allow their vehicles to be painted with educative HIV/AIDS material and slogans promoting morality, which is key to keeping the disease at bay.

It is not uncommon to find stickers inside matatus with phrases portraying women in general as sexual objects and pouring scorn on condom use and abstinence.

"You can't chew a candy with the wrapper still on," "Women are like taxis, you hop into one, drop out and jump into another," "Your girlfriend doesn't love you, she loves your money, get on with it," some of the popular slogans on matatu stickers read.

The two campaign groups would like to see a change in the tone of these messages. A more appropriate sticker reads: "Arm yourself with an umbrella when it rains," under a picture of a woman dressed in a life-size condom sheltering from falling rain.

"We are hopeful that this will drive morals into the minds of the youth and educate them on the benefits of condoms as protection gear against HIV/AIDS infection and unwanted pregnancies," Hawken added.

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