And in Indonesia, the country most devastated by Dec. 26's earthquake and tsunami, world leaders opened an emergency summit today with a moment of silence for the tens of thousands of victims, before focusing on the best way to rush nearly $4 billion pledged worldwide to millions of survivors.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the gathering that the world is in a race against time to get food, medicine and supplies to the neediest.

"Millions in Asia, Africa, and even in faraway countries, are suffering unimaginable trauma and psychological wounds that will take a long time to heal," he said. "The disaster was so brutal, so quick, and so far-reaching, that we are still struggling to comprehend it."

Competitive giving?

Buddhist monks chant prayers during a multidenominational memorial for the dead held at a soccer field in Phuket, Thailand. David Longstreath • Associated Press

People in London's Parliament Square were among millions across Eur-ope who observed a three-minute silence yesterday for tsunami victims. Stefan Rousseau • Associated Press

"Although we were powerless to stop the tsunami, together we have the power to stop those next waves," he said, calling for the establishment of a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean.

The summit came just hours after some nations increased their pledges, bringing the worldwide total from governments to about $3.8 billion. Australia promised $810 million — the largest donation so far.

The fresh outpouring of generosity appeared at times to be almost like a bidding war and raised questions about whether rich nations are using tragedy to jockey for influence on the world stage and with hardest-hit Indonesia, which has a wealth of natural resources.

Louis Michel, the European commissioner for humanitarian aid, urged donors not to engage in one-upsmanship. "We have to be careful and not participate in a beauty contest where we are competing to give higher figures," he said.

But U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland, the man who riled Washington by complaining that wealthy nations were often "stingy," said Tuesday: "I'd rather see competitive compassion than no compassion."

Michel also said that too many countries were making pledges that may not be honored.

A little over a year ago, donors promised Iran more than $1 billion in relief after an earthquake killed 26,000 people there. Iranian officials say only $17.5 million has been sent.

The big bucks

"Out of the appalling tragedy of the tsunami has emerged an opportunity to build a new future," Australian Prime Minister John Howard said. Rocky ties between Australia and Indonesia have improved steadily since the nations came together in the aftermath of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

The United States raised the stakes dramatically in the aid race by pledging $350 million on Friday; it now lies fourth on the donor list and has sent in two aircraft carrier groups and thousands of troops. Japan last week promised a $500 million package.

Because the tsunami struck on Dec. 26, few of the private American donations were made by Dec. 31, the usual cutoff for deducting charitable contributions from a given year's taxes. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to extend the deadline for tsunami aid to Jan. 31, hoping that will mean more donations from people who want to trim this April's tax bills.

"There's been an outpouring of support by private Americans and corporations for this catastrophe, but this will give an opportunity and an incentive to get more money up front," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He introduced the bill this week with the committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana.

In Indonesia, the donors' conference was focusing on how best to allocate the billions in aid following a disaster that wiped out villages and infrastructure, left millions homeless and threatened with disease, and killed more than 139,000 people.

The World Health Organization said it urgently needs $60 million to provide safe drinking water, sanitation, shelter, food, medical and other supplies to prevent disease outbreaks that would put another 150,000 people at "extreme risk" of dying. The United Nations announced that camps for up to 500,000 tsunami refugees will be built on Sumatra.

Even the poor donate

Even impoverished North Korea has chipped in with a pledge of $150,000. Convicts in Malaysia were donating money earned doing prison work, and war-torn Afghanistan plans to send doctors.

Some refugees on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka began returning home after 10 days in limbo. They went back however they could — on foot, by bicycle or in motorized rickshaw taxis.

But most of the survivors from Nasuvantivu village found they had nothing to go back to.

Subramaniam Nadarasa's once solid brick home, set among coconut trees on the sandy beach, was stripped to its cement floor. Blocks of the blue-painted walls lay broken. A pot and his crumpled blue bicycle were all that remained of his possessions.

The Associated Press and Gannett News Service contributed to this report.