Madonna and government officials from the southeastern African country of Malawi had quite a Lost in Translation moment yesterday.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie.

Following Madge's first visit to the impoverished country, where she plans to fund a center for 1,000 orphans, government officials announced that the pop star had adopted a boy from a specially chosen group of 12 children.

But as reports of the adoption spread, Madonna's publicist, Liz Rosenberg, vehemently denied those claims.

"Madonna has not adopted a baby boy as has been previously and incorrectly reported," Rosenberg said in an e-mail to the Associated Press in Los Angeles. "She is on a private visit to Malawi and is involved in the building of an orphanage/child care center as well as other initiatives to help the children of that country who have lost parents to AIDS.

"I have no information or confirmation regarding Madonna adopting an individual child," she continued. "She's kind of adopting an entire country of children."

Madonna continued her Malawi visit today, heading to Mphandula, a village about 30 miles from the country's capital, Lilongwe. Madonna's project, called Raising Malawi, aims to set up an orphan care center in Mphandula to provide food, education, and shelter for up to 4,000 children. It will have projects based on Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism that has gained popularity in recent years and which counts the 48-year-old singer among its devotees.

The orphan care center would be completed in March, a year after work on it was started.

Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie have a son, Rocco, 5, and the singer also has a daughter, Lourdes, 9.