British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in Sri Lanka at the age of 90.
The Somerset-born author came to fame in 1968 when short story The Sentinel was made into the film 2001: A Space Odyssey by director Stanley Kubrick.
Sir Arthur's vision of future space travel and computing captured the popular imagination.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse paid tribute, hailing the writer as a "great visionary".
An aide said Clarke died at 0130 local time in what had been his homeland since 1956 after a cardio-respiratory attack.
"Sir Arthur has left written instructions that his funeral be strictly secular," his secretary, Nalaka Gunawardene, was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
"Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral," she added.