"Hero" tops charts for second week

LONDON (Reuters) - A charity single for wounded soldiers and their families was at the top spot in the charts for the second week running, figures released by the Official UK Charts Company on Remembrance Sunday showed.

"Hero," a version of the Mariah Carey ballad sung by finalists on the ITV talent show "The X Factor," is the fastest selling charity release of the decade and the fastest selling single of 2008.

Money raised will go to Help for Heroes, a charity launched last year to support troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Royal British Legion, which helps serving and former military personnel and their families.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government has waived the usual 17.5 percent sales tax on each record sold.

Beyonce's "If I Were A Boy" comes straight in at number two, figures from the top 40's compiler showed.

Girls Aloud slipped one place to three with "The Promise" although their album "Out of Control" went straight in at number one, pushing Pink's "Funhouse" into second place.