Clarke, 90, who died on Wednesday after a brief illness, will be buried in a plot owned by his Sri Lankan business partner, with whose family he lived for decades, said his aide of 21 years, Nalaka Gunawardene.

The government asked people to observe a minute's silence at 3.30 pm (5pm Singapore time) on Saturday when Clarke is laid to rest.

The space visionary's body has been kept at his home in capital Colombo and a large number of students, fans, clergy and politicians have paid their respects. Music from sci-fi thrillers played in the background.

Arthur Charles Clarke shot to fame in 1968 when director Stanley Kubrick turned his short story 'The Sentinel' into the classic film '2001: A Space Odyssey'.

Knighted in 1998 in recognition of his status as the grand old man of science fiction, Clarke settled down in Sri Lanka in 1956 and became the island's first resident guest in 1975.

'He always loved it here, the warm climate and the friendly people,' said his younger brother, Fred Clarke. 'He said he had managed to escape 40 British winters and had no regrets.'

Trained in physics and mathematics, Clarke penned more than 100 books and more than 1,000 short stories as well as essays on space travel, communication technologies, underwater exploration and future studies over 60 years.

On his 90th birthday in December, Clarke wished for lasting peace in his adopted homeland, Sri Lanka, which has been wracked by more than 35 years of fighting between troops and Tamil separatists. -- AFP