MJ's memorial website gets 500 million hits in one hour

The website set for Michael Jackson's fans to register for the Tuesday memorial service received more than 500 million hits within an hour of its launch, the organisers said.

The website www.staplescenter.com, which was launched yesterday, received more than 500 million hits as Jackson's fans rushed to register for the tickets to the July 7 event at Los Angeles Staples Center.

The website was set up to prevent duplicate registrations from being accepted for the massive ceremony, a news release from the Jackson family said. The 17,500 tickets will be distributed for the event and an a draw will determine the names of the attendees, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The draw will select 8,750 names, and those people will receive two tickets each and wristbands on Monday. The 11,000 tickets will be for seats at Staples Center and 6,500 for seats at Nokia Theatre, where the live feed will be broadcast.

Meanwhile, the Neverland Ranch owners have released a statement saying that they will not allow any more tours or interviews at the estate until the memorial service is over.

"...Neverland Ranch will close its magical gates to the media and will not conduct any events from 7:00 pm Friday, July 3 until after the scheduled memorial for Michael Jackson on Tuesday, July 7.

"This will enable all of us, including his fans and family, to focus on the Tuesday celebration of Michael's life at the Staples Center in Los Angeles," the statement read.