The Edge said he "wanted to give something really significant"

The Gibson Les Paul used on every U2 tour since 1985 sold for $240,000 (�120,000), while one owned by Jimi Hendrix fetched $400,000 (�200,000).

Other items of U2 memorabilia included a pair of singer Bono's sunglasses.

The Edge co-founded Music Rising, a charity to replace instruments lost or destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

Julien's Auctions, who organised the Icons of Music sale at New York's Hard Rock Cafe, said it included the largest selection of U2 memorabilia ever made available to collectors.

An autographed guitar belonging to Bono sold for $180,000 (�90,000), a bass guitar donated by Adam Clayton for $22,000 (�11,000), and Larry Mullen Jr's tom-tom drum fetched $19,000 (�9,500).

The Edge donated other items including a 1958 Gibson archtop guitar, that sold for $105,000 (�52,500), and clothing accessories such as a signature knitted hat which earned $11,000 (�5,500).

"I have to say that it is a strange feeling to see some of your stuff up here," the 45-year-old guitarist told Reuters news agency.

A saxophone signed by former US President Bill Clinton fetched $54,000 (�27,000), while $30,000 (�15,000) was paid for a pair of John Lennon's round, blue-tinted sunglasses.

U2 have been one of the world's most-popular acts since the 1980s

The Edge, real name David Evans, created Music Rising in 2005 with record producer Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman of guitar-makers Gibson.

"One of the good things about globalization is it has created a single international music community, and I feel very much part of it," he has said.

"So this doesn't seem like it's someone else's problem. It's really our problem too."

He said jazz from New Orleans "was the forerunner of everything".

"You mix jazz with European rhythms, and that's rock 'n' roll really. You can make the argument that it all started on the streets of New Orleans with the jazz funerals."

Hurricane Katrina hit the southern US in August 2005, causing flooding in the Louisiana city of New Orleans that killed some 1,300 people.