The 1978 hit has been remixed for the new millennium

The YMCA said the idea for the collaboration was the result of a happy coincidence, as the release date for the remixed single also marks the start of YMCA week.

When the organisation pointed this out, the group and their record company were happy to hand over a donation for each sale made during the first week the track is in shops.

National secretary for YMCA England Eddie Thomas said: "Things have come a long way from when the YMCA song was first released 21 years ago.

"The YMCA in England now works with over 680,000 people each year. Almost half the people using YMCAs are now female, so it's certainly not just 'young men' as the song says."

Famed for their trademark macho outfits, including a policeman's uniform, a red Indian, and a construction worker, Village People - named in tribute to the New York's Greenwich Village gay district - launched themselves on the disco world in the late 1970s.

They first took the clubs by storm with their gay club anthems such as Macho Man and Fire Island. Chart success came with the release of YMCA and In The Navy in 1978, followed by a further hit with Go West in 1979.

Pet Shop Boys did their own version of Go West

Go West - a celebration of the San Francisco gay scene - became a 1993 hit for UK band Pet Shop Boys, and the tune became an anthem for crowds at football matches.

YMCA - which normally sees audiences and party-goers singing along and shaping the letters of the title with their arms - remains a big dance-floor favourite.

Its re-release comes ahead of a Village People Greatest Hits album which is out on 22 November.