Coldplay's new album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends is on its way to becoming one of the fastest selling album of the year.

The record, which is the band's fourth, is expected to sell more then 300,000 copies in its first week.

According to online retailer Play.com, the album is expected to be the biggest pre-sale order ever.

The site is said to be receiving more pre-orders than the rest of Play.com's entire top 40 pre-order albums combined.

Customers have been snapping up copies of Viva at the rate of one every minute during peak times and it looks set to exceed the sales figures of Leona Lewis' album Spirit.

The band are due to play a free gig at Brixton Academy next Monday where they will showcase tracks from their new album.

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