Rome authorities have urged pilgrims to stay away from the city centre, saying it cannot cope with any more before Friday's funeral of Pope John Paul II.

One million people are still waiting to see the Pope lying in state but the queue has been cut off to new people.

US President George W Bush has flown into Rome for the funeral, going immediately to St Peter's Basilica to pray before the body of the Pope.

Cardinals will begin the process of electing a new pope on 18 April.

Around four million visitors have descended on Rome - which has a population of three million - since the pontiff's death on Saturday, said city police chief Achille Serra.

"The number of people is staggering and is growing constantly," Mr Serra told Reuters news agency. "This is unprecedented".

Some two million faithful were expected from Poland, the Pope's homeland, alone.

At its height, the tightly-packed queue of people wanting to see the Pope's body stretched back nearly 2km (1.2 miles). The queue was cut late on Wednesday night, to ensure that those in line have time to view the Pope.

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