It started with a late night tweet. But it could end up as as the Christmas No 1.

The first-ever charity single recorded using Twitter, #twitterxmassingle, was launched in Dublin yesterday, and raced straight to number 4 in the Irish iTunes chart.

Written by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, 'Winter Song' came about after Brenda Drumm from Newbridge in Co Kildare tweeted on Saturday November 19: "Wouldn't it be great to have a Twitter Xmas Single?" Within hours @BrendaDrumm was getting tweets from musicians, singers, studio technicians, and other well-wishers across the country eager to help.

Recording of the Christmas single took place just eight days later, on Sunday November 27, when 140 people gathered in the Westin Hotel in Dublin.

Organisers picked the track 'Winter Song' as their single because it fitted the season, and also because the record is a fundraiser for the Neonatal Special Care Unit in the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street, Dublin.

"It's a beautiful song but also perfect because it seems like the lyrics were written by someone who has watched their child being cared for in the neonatal unit," added Ms Drumm, a cancer survivor who began using Twitter in 2007 when she took a year off to battle the illness.

Featuring 16 solo singers, along with a choir of 90, all the vocals on the track were recorded in the banqueting hall of the Westin Hotel.

Organisers hope the track, available through iTunes, could hit number one by December 25.

Commenting on the project, Ms Drumm said she had been "overwhelmed" at the response to a very short and sweet tweet.

"In just two weeks we have taken a tweet and turned it into a single, which is now being tipped to be the Christmas No 1.

"I had no idea that anything like this would happen and it really just shows the power of Twitter and the generosity and good will in the hearts of Irish people," she said.