PAY-per-view funerals will go live online in Britain today, allowing mourners who cannot attend services in person to pay their last respects via the internet.
Despite criticism of the scheme being macabre, the company that launched the service, Wesley Music, was planning to offer it to crematoria across the country for a one-off payment of around STG75 ($A162.95) for access to a funeral webcast.
Mourners use the password to access a live online broadcast of the funeral service captured by a small camera mounted in the chapel.
"Families are dispersed across the world these days and sometimes it`s the case that someone cannot get home in time for a funeral,`` Wesley Music director Alan Jeffrey said.
"For those who need it, this is a very important service. It means that rather than being excluded, they can at least witness and be a part of a funeral as it happens. In a time of stress this is something that can ease the pain."
David Powell, of funeral directors Henry Powell and Son in Southampton, southern England said he had tested the service during three funerals.
He said they remained private, intimate affairs despite being broadcast on the web.
"It`s a personal thing. It doesn`t go out for all and sundry to gawk at,`` he said.
"There is a password for the family to send to people who want to watch online.``
He said mourners in Australia and Canada had used the system.
"The families have been absolutely delighted to be able to share in the proceedings when it wasn`t possible for them to get over here and attend.``
