Apple to shut stores Wednesday for Jobs memorial

Apple computers display pictures of Steve Jobs on screen in the iShop in Guatemala City, October 6, 2011.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc plans to shutter U.S. retail stores for several hours on Wednesday so employees can take part in a company-wide celebration of co-founder Steve Jobs' life, a person familiar with the celebration said.

Store employees in United States will use that time to view a live broadcast of the event, which is being held at an outdoor amphitheater at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino.

The celebration -- which will be held from 10 a.m. PT to 11:30 a.m. PT -- follows a private memorial service for the late tech visionary at Stanford University attended by Silicon Valley luminaries, politicians and celebrities.

Many stores across California were not accepting online bookings for Wednesday morning, either for tech-support or tutorial appointments.

Employees across Asia and Australia will be able to view a re-broadcast of the celebration, the person said.

An Apple spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment.

Jobs died on Oct 5 at the age of 56 after a long battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. Chief Executive Tim Cook had said in a memo to employees on October 10 that a celebration of his life would be held Wednesday.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta)