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Pop legend Michael Jackson is reported to have died of a heart attack after he was rushed to hospital in Los Angeles.

The entertainment TMZ website reports Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him.

Earlier, a fire department official told the Los Angeles Times that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital.

Steve Ruda told the newspaper on Thursday that Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30pm.

The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the paper.

Meanwhile, Michael's father Joe Jackson told E! Online he was aware of the emergency but did not know further details.

"I am in Las Vegas, but yes, people in Los Angeles called me and are with Michael and tell me he was taken to the hospital," he said. "I am not sure what's wrong. I am waiting to hear back from them."

The reports came as Jackson prepared to make a keenly anticipated concert comeback in London, his first series of shows in more than a decade and the first since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.

However those concerts -- billed as the "final curtain" -- had been thrown into doubt after Jackson pushed back the opening dates last month.

Organisers of the concerts had stressed the delay was not linked to Jackson's health.

Promoters and producers AEG Live said the rescheduling was done because of the "sheer magnitude" of the show and the desire for fans attending the opening nights to get the same experience planned for all 50 shows.

In a press conference from the United States broadcast over the Internet, AEG Live president Randy Phillips was asked about Jackson's health and said: "I would trade my body for his tomorrow. He's in fantastic shape."

While Jackson reigned as the King of Pop in the 1980s, his once-stellar career had been overshadowed by his colourful public behavior, his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse.

Jackson lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges including child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.

Despite his acquittal, the trial was a body blow from which the pop music superstar struggled to recover.

Four years later, Jackson is still worshipped by fans for revolutionising music, dance and music videos at the peak of his success.

The attention however paid to him in recent years has been less flattering, focusing on apparent cosmetic surgery -- which he denies -- his baby dangling antics and a decade of swirling child abuse allegations.

So sad, hopefully people and press will follow through and respect his wishes for the anonymity of his children and also respect his families privacy.

its odd that Farrach Fawcett is gettin next to no coverage, especially with each of their legal history!!

the latest on this is now that he had a reaction to drugs.

His physician was in his house at the time. He was on laodsa drugs coz of his operations, like demarol, and one news headline claimed it was a "cocktail of drugs" that killed him.

His autopsy lasted a few hours and theres still no cause of death. they've sent off specimens for a blood toxicology report which could take a few weeks, but the fact that they've done that must mean something!

As millions continue to mourn the death of Michael Jackson across the globe, many fans who bought tickets for the pop superstar's ill-fated "This Is It" dates have also been wondering when or if they will get their money back. Around 800,000 reportedly paid considerable sums to see his much-anticipated but unlikely comeback, which was scheduled to stretch across 50 dates at London's O2 Arena. Today news emerged that the promoters have come up with a novel idea to commemorate his passing.

All fans will be eligible to a refund or can instead sacrifice the money to receive their exclusive ticket, which features a holographic, 3D image of Jackson in one of his iconic, dancing poses. Eight different versions are understood to have been printed and AEG Live say they have been inundated with requests from fans who are eager to keep what are sure to become collector's items and a highly-sought after piece of music memorabilia.

Company president Randy Phillips explained they were keen to make sure people were treated fairly after missing out on the chance to see Michael. "The world lost a kind soul who just happened to be the greatest entertainer the world has ever known", he explained. "Since he loved his fans in life, it is incumbent upon us to treat them with the same reverence and respect after his death.

cool. good idea!

The Staples Center must have bulked up their servers big time!

The venue's website was visited over 500 million times within the first hour of opening registration for Michael Jackson's memorial!!!!

Out of those 500 million, only 17,500 fans will be awarded a ticket for the memorial service through a lottery.
jeez they are terrible odds! you'd almost be more likely to win the national lottery!

ye and apparently hes gettin buried at a secret location too!! ooooooooh

Michael Jackson Autopsy report

Michael Jackson's full autopsy report was released following the filing of involuntary manslaughter charges on Monday against the singer's personal doctor, Conrad Murray which revealed the ravaged state of the singer's dead body.

The LA county coroner's full report, which had been kept under wraps pending a criminal charge, finally emerged and painted a dreadful picture of the singer's existence.

Jackson's body was 175cm long and weighed just 61kg at the time of his death, revealing that he was very underweight.

Some other notable new highlights of the Los Angeles County Coroner's report into Jackson's June 25 death are:

- Jackson died of "acute propofol intoxication" administered at a level equivalent to that used during anesthesia for "major surgery". A consultant anesthesiologist said there were "no reports of its use in insomnia relief."

- None of the recommended monitoring, precision dosing or resuscitation equipment was present in Jackson's room.

- Jackson had the skin pigmentation disorder vitiligo, with white patches particularly on his chest, abdomen, face and arms.

- The hair on Jackson's head was described initially by police as "sparse and connected to a wig." The autopsy revealed "frontal balding".

- Jackson's hair line was tattooed on, as were other facial features including his black eyebrows and pink lips.

- A bandage was present on the tip of Jackson's nose.

- Jackson had small scars on his nose, neck, shoulder, wrists, knee, and behind both ears.

- A closed bottle of urine was found on a chair in the bedroom where the singer died, along with a box of catheters, disposable needles, alcohol pads, several empty orange juice bottles, a string of wooden beads and a green oxygen tank.

On Aug 6, a month before his burial, police went to the mortuary where his body was being held to collect hair samples for toxicology tests. The casket was described as yellow with a blue lining and Jackson was wearing a long, dark wig. "Moving the wig revealed short, dark, curly natural hair... measuring approximately one and a half inches in length."