Bill Gates soaked in ice bucket challenge

Multi-billionaire Bill Gates has dunked himself in ice water after being challenged by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Sky News reported.

The Microsoft pioneer took the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for ALS, also known as Lou Gherig's disease, or motor neurone disease.

The video - posted on his gatesnotes blog - shows Mr Gates watching Mr Zuckerberg nominate him and then rigging up an elaborate tipping mechanism to out-do the Facebook boss.

The 58-year-old sketches out a plan, appears to weld the structure before pulling the cord and unleashing the icy water over his head - as the camera captures it all in slow motion.

Gates is worth an estimated $80.2bn (£48bn), according to Forbes, and is well known for his philanthropy through the charitable foundation he runs with his wife.

The Microsoft co-founder nominates other famous entrepreneurs to take a dip in the 90-second clip, saying: "I'm going to challenge three more people - Elon Musk (of SpaceX and Tesla electric cars); Ryan Seacrest (American Idol host); and Chris Sanderson (curator of the TED conferences).

"You have 24 hours - good luck!"

The challenge sees people tipping ice water over themselves to raise awareness of ALS - and if a nominee does not take up the challenge within a day they must make a donation.

Charities have reported a massive surge in donations after the campaign went rival, with celebrities such as Justin Timberlake and US talk show host Jimmy Fallon also getting in on the act.

In the UK, Macmillan Cancer Support is also using the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness and donations.