Los Angeles  - Michael Jackson's coffin has been moved to the Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, Los Angeles authorities told an entertainment new website on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the LA County Registrar-Recorder told the internet service E! Online on Wednesday that the coffin was taken to the celebrity cemetery after the funeral in the Staples Center on Tuesday.

The singer's family said its private farewells on Tuesday morning before the public ceremony, which was attended by pop stars, sporting greats, civil rights activists and 20,000 fans.

It was not known where the singer's body would be buried. Forest Lawn is just a temporary place of rest until the Jackson family makes a decision, said LA County Registrar-Recorder spokesman Bryan Hill.

Last week, Jackson's brother Jermaine said the family would like to bury him at Michael's former Neverland estate, but said that the permit process would take too long.

The official funeral ceremony on Tuesday in Los Angeles was watched by several hundred million people around the world. In the US 31.1 million people watched, USmagazine. com reported on Wednesday.

The viewing figures were well below those for Princess Diana's funeral on September 6, 1997, which 33 million Americans watched. Thirty-eight million Americans watched the swearing in of US President Barack Obama in January.

The authorities in Los Angeles put the cost of the security and organization, which involved 3,000 police, at 1.4 million dollars. The city had appealed for donations on its internet site but the Los Angeles Times reported that just 17,000 dollars was donated on Tuesday, although the server was offline for several hours.

Jackson died suddenly on June 25 of heart failure. The authorities are investigating whether the singer's alleged drug abuse caused his death. (dpa)