The science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke has died in Colombo, Sri Lanka, aged 90.

The writer, who combined scientific knowledge and poetic imagination, had lived there since 1956.

An aide of Clarke said the writer of '2001: A Space Odyssey' had been experiencing breathing problems. He had suffered from post-polio syndrome for the past 20 years.

The author of almost 100 books, Clarke believed firmly that humankind's destiny lay beyond the Earth.

In 1968 he worked with Stanley Kubrick to create '2001: A Space Odyssey'. He wrote a novel of the same title as part of the project.

In 1945 he wrote about telecommunications satellites – more than a decade before the first orbital rocket flight.