BEIJING, Sept. 17 -- British billionaire Richard Branson is giving 100,000 pounds (201,800 dollars) to kick start a fund to assist the parents of missing girl Madeleine McCann with their legal costs, his spokeswoman said on Sunday.

       The Virgin Group boss has been in touch with other wealthy individuals to encourage them to add to the fund as Gerry and Kate McCann try to clear their names after Portuguese police named them as formal suspects in the disappearance of their daughter.

       "In the midst of all of this speculation and rumor, we must remember there is a family in pain and a little four-year-old girl is still missing," said the spokeswoman for the tycoon. "We must not lose sight of this fact. It is the only solid fact we know."

       The couple are official suspects in their daughter's disappearance and face further questioning by detectives investigating the case.

       Detectives in Portugal are said to be working on the theory that Mrs McCann may have accidentally killed her daughter and relied on her husband to cover it up.

       The couple rejected the claim as "ludicrous," denying any involvement in their daughter's disappearance. The 4-year-old girl went missing while on holiday in southern Portugal on May 3. They are convinced she is still alive.

       Well-wishers have already donated more than millions of dollars to a fund to help find the girl. However, the trust's directors decided last week that the money should not be used to pay the couple's legal bills.

       Separate media reports said Gerry and Kate McCann have contacted the lawyers of a man charged with murder who successfully challenged sniffer dog evidence, hoping that the case could help them to prove their own innocence.

       Two British sniffer dogs, one capable of detecting blood and human remains, were taken to Portugal in early August to help in the investigation. The dog picked up a "scent of death" on numerous items, including Mrs McCann's clothes and her daughter's favorite soft toy.