MICHAEL Jackson's personal physician Dr Conrad Murray was convicted tonight of the involuntary manslaughter of the star.

Murray gave the King of Pop a fatal overdose of the dangerous anaesthetic propofol, jurors ruled.

Following a six-week trial, a jury of seven men and five women took eight-and-a-half hours to reach a unanimous verdict.

Los Angeles Superior Court heard that Murray gave the powerful sedative to the singer to help him overcome his chronic insomnia, but prosecutors said the use of the drug as a sleeping aid violated standards of care.

The court was told the inept 58-year-old doctor caused the star's death through negligence, depriving Jackson's children of their father.

Murray, who was due to be paid £150,000 a month for his role, acted in a criminally negligent way by using propofol as an insomnia treatment without the proper staff or medical equipment, the court was told.

Prosecutors said that he botched resuscitation efforts and lied to other medical personnel about his actions.

Murray's defence lawyers claimed Jackson self-administered the dose when the doctor left the room.

Murray was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on November 29.

The court heard about Jackson's high hopes for his comeback concerts, which were due to be held at Londons 02 venue.

Before his death on June 25, 2009, he was preparing to perform a series of farewell concerts, bowing out on an illustrious music career spanning several decades while aiming to restore his fortunes.

Jurors were played a recording of Jackson speaking to Murray while under the influence of an unknown substance roughly six weeks before his death.

The singer's speech was heavily slurred but recognisable.

He said: "We have to be phenomenal.

"When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, Ive never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. Ive never seen nothing like this. Go. It's amazing. He's the greatest entertainer in the world."

Initially only a handful of concert dates were advertised, but when the gigs sold out rapidly, event promoters decided to hold a 50-concert residency at the venue.

Fans from around the globe had planned to descend on the capital to attend the This Is It shows.

More than 750,000 fans snapped up the tickets which were dubbed as the hottest selling on the planet by organisers.

Tickets, which were priced between £50 and £70, sold at a rate of 11 per second, 657 per minute and nearly 40,000 an hour.

According to reports, Jackson was planning to stay in the luxury Foxbury Manor in Chislehurst, Kent, while in the UK. The mansion is one of the largest private properties in Greater London.

Jurors were told of Jackson's rigorous training before the highly anticipated concerts - attending a rehearsal the night before he died.

Promoter for concert giant AEG, Paul Gongaware, told the court that two days before Jackson died he was engaged and energetic during a rehearsal for the shows.