Jackson O2 stint increases further

Michael Jackson has continued to add dates to his O2 residency, which now stretches into September.

The 50-year-old popstar has increased the number of dates to 27 in response to incredible demand. It is still not known how many shows Jackson may end up scheduling in total.

Originally the 'Thriller' singer announced a ten-show run at the London venue, but following the huge response to presale tickets, he has now confirmed another nine.

He now has 11 shows in place for July, nine in August and seven scheduled for September.

Jackson's 'This Is It' concerts will be the singer's first full live shows since his 1996/97 'HIStory' tour. He has described the gigs as his "curtain call", insisting that they will be his last ever in the UK.

Meanwhile, Ticketmaster has apologised for "technical problems" that occurred during the ticket sale on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately due to a technical issue, we were unable to facilitate all immediate ticket requests," said managing director Chris Edmonds.

"Apologies to those fans who were unable to log on, but fans should keep on trying to purchase tickets."