LOS ANGELES — Like a modern-day Willy Wonka tale, fans began to celebrate yesterday after winning coveted tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service at Staples Center.

More than 1.6 million fans registered online for free in the random drawing of only 8,750 names. Each per- son selected will receive two tickets to tomorrow's service. The odds of getting a ticket were about 1 in 183.

"I'm in shock that it has happened," said Deka Motanya, 27, of San Francisco. "It's surreal." She received an e-mail message at 4:35 p.m. notifying her, "Congratulations, your application was successful."

She immediately Twittered: "OMG OMG OMG OMG i got tickets to the michael jackson memorial service!!!"

The tickets will admit 11,000 people to the Staples Center plus 6,500 in the Nokia Theater overflow section next door.

'SLUMDOG' BOY MOVES INTO NEW HOME

MUMBAI, India — One of the impoverished child stars from "Slumdog Millionaire" will move from his shanty home in one of Mumbai's more wretched slums into a new apartment next week, his mother said yesterday.

"On Friday we got the keys," said Shameem Ismail, the mother of child star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, who played the young Salim in the Oscar-winning hit.

The family started moving in over the weekend. They plan to finish the job by tomorrow, she said.

Both Azhar and his co-star, Rubina Ali, lost their homes in May after civic authorities demolished parts of the slum where they lived.

'MIDGET' IS A SLUR, LITTLE PEOPLE COMPLAIN

NEW YORK — Little people are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to ban the use of the word "midget" on broadcast TV.

The group Little People of America said yesterday the word is just as offensive as racial slurs.

The request was prompted by an April episode of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice."

In the episode, contestants created a detergent ad called "Jesse James and the Midgets." The contestants, including Joan Rivers, suggested bathing little people in the detergent and hanging them to dry.

'TRANSFORMERS,' 'ICE AGE' TOP GROSSERS

LOS ANGELES — Prehistoric creatures and robots were in a photo finish for the Fourth of July box-office crown yesterday, with "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" tied with $42.5 million each.

Final numbers today will sort out which movie actually made the most money.