Mystery surrounds Jackson burial

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Michael Jackson's body and plans for the singer's burial following his emotional memorial service.

It is not clear where his golden coffin was taken to after it was removed from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

And, in the absence of an announcement by his family, speculation is mounting over where he will be buried.

Meanwhile, figures show that his memorial service was watched by 31.3 million people in the US.

Resting place

On Tuesday, family members attended a short funeral service at the Forest Lawn cemetery before Jackson's coffin was taken in a hearse for the 10-mile trip to the Staples Center.

Where should Jackson be buried?
After the coffin was taken out, the hearse was seen leaving the centre but its destination has not been made public.

Los Angeles County records show that Forest Lawn is officially the temporary location of the body. But the coffin has not been seen returning to the cemetery.

Some reports suggest that Jackson could be buried at Forest Lawn - the last resting place of celebrities including Liberace, Bette Davies and actor David Carradine, who was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room last month.

Last week, Jackson's brother Jermaine said he wanted the body to be buried in the grounds of the singer's former home - the sprawling Neverland ranch, 150 miles north-west of Los Angeles.

Permission would be needed by authorities who would have to consider the implications of visiting fans on the transport infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Nielsen Media Research, the company that tracks viewing figures in the US, said that 31.3 million people watched the memorial service which was shown on a number of different networks.

This compared with the 28.9 million who watched the American Idol final in May and the 38 million who watched President Barack Obama's inauguration in January.

Princess Diana's funeral in September 1997 was watched by 33.2 million in the US.

Nielsen Media Research said Jackson's memorial service was also watched by millions more on the internet.

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It has emerged that the memorial service cost $1.4m (£860,000) to police and to provide traffic control and other services for.

Paris Jackson made an emotional tribute at the service
The amount included $1.1 million (£680,000) in overtime pay for the 4,173 officers who worked around Forest Lawn, the Staples Center and other areas, the police department said.

The city council has set up a website asking people to make tax-free donations to help cover costs.

US music sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan, meanwhile, has revealed that 800,000 copies of Michael Jackson albums were bought last week - almost double sales for the previous week.

Compilation Number Ones was the best-selling album followed by 1982 album Thriller.