Houston's Funeral To Be Broadcast On Web

Whitney Houston's fans will be able to watch her private funeral on the internet after her family agreed to allow a camera into the small church service in Newark, New Jersey.

Some fans expressed disappointment after it was announced that just 300 relatives and friends would able to attend the private funeral at New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston sang as a child.

There were also no plans to hold a public memorial service, despite earlier suggestions that Newark's 18,000-seater Prudential Centre could be used for a ceremony.

One of the fans who had gathered outside the church on Wednesday, Samuel Turner Jackson, said: "We don't know what the circumstances are, but we're sure that the family did want to share something with the community that she gave so much to.

"But they have their reasons, and we're going to do the best we can to pay our respects and to mourn her."

After the decision to broadcast the service , Mr Turner and others like him will have the opportunity to share in remembering one of the world's best-selling singers.

The cause of the 48-year-old's death at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles on Saturday has not yet been established.

A post-mortem has been completed but the coroner is waiting for the results of toxicology tests, which could take up to eight weeks.

Houston had fought a well-documented battle with drugs and alcohol, and officials have subpoenaed records from the singer's doctors and the pharmacies who dispensed the medicine found in her hotel room.

Earlier, funeral home owner Carolyn Whigham said the family had decided "this is their time now for their farewell".

She said: "The family thanks all the fans, the friends and the media, but this time is their private time."

Large crowds are expected to gather on Saturday in the streets outside the New Hope Baptist Church, which is about a mile from the funeral home where the body is being kept.

Gospel singer Marvin Winans, a Grammy Award winner and longtime family friend, has been chosen to give the eulogy.

Winans, in his role as a pastor, married Houston and fellow singer Bobby Brown in 1992 - the couple later divorced.

But Brown will not be welcome at the funeral, according to media reports in the US.