DHAKA, Dec 14 (AFP) - The World Bank has approved credit worth 40 million dollars for a project to fight AIDS in Bangladesh, a bank statement said Thursday.

Britain would provide 10 million dollars for the 53 million-dollar project with the remainder to be funded by Bangladesh, the statement, issued by the bank's Dhaka mission said.

"It is still possible for Bangladesh to avoid a nationwide AIDS epidemic because infection rates are low ... But these rates are rising within specific population," Brad Herbert, the bank-appointed team leader for the scheme, said in the statement.

He said the highest priority at this point, and a main aim of the project, was to promote safe behaviour among groups most likely to contract and spread the disease.

"Without strong, immediate action, Bangladesh runs the risk of experiencing the devastating social and economic effects of the full-blown epidemic seen in other countries," he added.

The bank said scaling up successful non-governmental organisation (NGO) programmes targeting the high risk groups, expanding awareness about human immuno virus (HIV) infection and strengthening the government's capacity to respond effectively to HIV are the other objectives of the HIV/AIDS Prevention Project.

It said while the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Bangladesh was still relatively low, patterns of behaviour which could cause a rapid spread of the infection were widespread.

In particular, the sharing of needles by injection drug users, low condom use within the country's large commercial sex industry and blood transfusion from unscreened blood supplies, were all factors which threatened to significantly raise the number of cases in the coming years.

"HIV/AIDS is likely to become a major development challenge in Bangladesh as it will threaten the country's achievements in reducing poverty and raising the quality of life," the bank said.

So far 10 patients have died of AIDS and more than 100 other are infected with full-blown AIDS.

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