SCI-FI GREAT ARTHUR C CLARKE BURIED IN SRI LANKAN CAPITAL

The late science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has been laid to rest in Sri Lanka.

The 2001: A Space Odyssey author died aged 90 at his home in Colombo on Wednesday after cardio-respiratory problems. He had used a wheelchair since 1995 due to post-polio syndrome.

He was buried in the Sri Lankan capital today, with music from Stanley Kubrick's movie adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey played as his coffin was lowered.

As he had wished, his gravestone reads: "Here lies Arthur C Clarke. He never grew up and did not stop growing."

Written instructions left prior to his death indicated that "absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral".

Best known for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke came to prominence after the publication of Childhood's End, his fifth novel, in 1953. He published around 30 in the coming years, including Rendezvous to Rama, Imperial Earth and Firstborn, published last year.

His brother Fred said he had ""always loved" the "warm climate and the friendly people" of his adopted home of Sri Lanka.

"He said he had managed to escape 40 British winters and had no regrets," Mr Clarke was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

Tamara Ekanayake, daughter of Sir Arthur's business partner, Hector Ekanayake, said her family felt "so privileged that you left your mark on us."

"Your footprint will never fade. If anything, it will only magnify what we do," she said at the private service.