Pop icon Cher, actor Bryan Cranston and original Batman star Adam West are among the latest crop of celebrities who have offered to record outgoing voicemail messages for fans to raise money for charity.

Veteran actor and activist Ed Asner launched the campaign last year (12), signing up famous friends like Betty White, Tom Hanks, William Shatner and Will Ferrell to take part in the benefit drive for advocacy group Autism Speaks.

The inaugural effort raised $100,000 (£66,670) for autism research groups and now Asner has called on Cher, Cranston and West to tape a limited number of 20-second custom-made messages too.

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, Star Trek's Zachary Quinto and Michael Dorn, Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage and Jack Black are also involved in the 2013 campaign.

Voicemail requests will be taken from 7 to 13 October (13), but they won't come cheap - they are priced at $299 (£199) each.