Lucy Liu is calling on Americans to pay $1 for tap water in restaurants to help save children's lives in Africa. Liu, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) ambassador, has just returned from Cote d'Ivoire in Africa, where she witnessed the threat to child survival caused by a lack of clean drinking water.

And now the actress is encouraging people to pay for the tap water they'd normally get for free during World Water Week this week to help raise $1 million to provide African children with purified water.

Liu says, "If you go to a restaurant and they'd give you tap water for free, they're asking you to donate a dollar for the tap water. One dollar will provide water for 40 children for one day, which is incredible. It's kind of great - you get to go out and enjoy food with people and you get to give back in such a small and simple way."

More than 2,000 restaurants across the U.S. have signed up to participate in World Water Week.

-Lucy Liu Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)