Officials, mourners remember Sihanouk

EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL

Preparations are underway in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh for the funeral of the late King Norodom Sihanouk who died Monday in Beijing.

The streets in front of the Royal Palace were hosed down, and sidewalks swept as the country holds a second day of mourning for the former king.

This group of students prayed and set lotus flowers on the palace steps.

(nats china)

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Sihanouk's residence in Beijing where he offered his condolences to Cambodia's current king, Sihanouk's son, Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen who went to Beijing to collect the body.

No date has been set for the funeral yet.

Sihanouk, once an absolute ruler who freed Cambodia from colonialism, will also be remembered as a puppet kept by the Khmer Rouge during their 1970s reign of terror that killed almost a quarter of the Cambodian population.

Sihanouk died of natural causes. He was 89 years old.