Michael Jackson's doctor plans to surrender to authorities at a courthouse within hours, his lawyer has said.

Dr Conrad Murray's lawyer posted a brief statement on his website saying the physician planned to surrender at 1.30pm local time (2130 GMT) on Monday.

Murray's lawyers have said they expect the doctor to be charged with a single count of involuntary manslaughter for administering a powerful anaesthetic to Jackson before he died last June.

News crews surrounded the Los Angeles International Airport Courthouse, placing cameras along the entire entrance.

As the last person to see Jackson alive, Murray has been the focal point of a police investigation since Jackson died on June 25 aged 50. Murray acknowledged that he administered the hospital anaesthetic propofol and other sedatives as Jackson, a chronic insomniac, struggled to sleep.

Murray had been hired as the performer's personal physician as he prepared for a monumental comeback concert in London. The doctor was to have travelled with Jackson and had closed down his cardiology practices in Houston and Las Vegas to devote himself to Jackson full-time.

The death of the pop superstar left the doctor's life and medical practice in limbo. There was talk of a criminal case even before a coroner's report found that Jackson's death was a homicide and pinpointed propofol and other drugs as the cause.

On Friday, after a week of on-again, off-again reports that Murray would be charged, district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said the office was delaying any action until Monday amid reports that police wanted to arrest and handcuff the doctor but his attorneys were negotiating to avoid that.

The drama of his surrender and subsequent arraignment was to be played out in front of news cameras, and Murray's legal team wanted to avoid the spectacle of having the doctor seen in handcuffs by a large audience - including potential jurors for his trial.

Murray's lead defence lawyer, Ed Chernoff, has said the doctor is prepared for the legal battle ahead. "We'll make bail, we'll plead not guilty and we'll fight like hell," he said.