FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, (Reuters):

A Florida judge yesterday ordered that new DNA samples be taken from the body of Anna Nicole Smith but made no decision on whether her boyfriend or her mother has the right to bury the former Playboy Playmate.

Broward County Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin indicated there would be no quick resolution on custody of the body of the billionaire's widow and tabloid star who died a week ago in Hollywood, Florida, aged 39, after collapsing at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

As a Florida medical examiner warned that the remains were decomposing and should be released immediately for burial, Seidlin ordered another hearing for Friday to decide whether Smith's body should be embalmed.

"We're going to figure out whether we're going to embalm or not," Seidlin said.

Seidlin is presiding over a legal tug-of-war between Smith's lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, her mother, Virgie Arthur, and Larry Birkhead, Smith's ex-boyfriend.