WITH the late Hugo Chavez set to be embalmed and put on display in Venezuela , we look back at the leaders preserved for fans and tourists.

JOSEF STALIN: Soviet dictator's embalmed body was put on display next to Lenin on March 9, 1953. Soviet authorities ordered it removed from the tomb October 31, 1961, and had it buried during a period of "de-Stalinisation''

HO CHI MINH: The corpse of the Vietnamese revolutionary leader was put on display on August 29, 1975. It rests in a glass sarcophagus in the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi and is a popular destination for tourists.

MAO ZEDONG: Embalmed body of the founding father of the People's Republic of China was unveiled on September 9, 1977. It rests in the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in the centre of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Long lines of people form daily to view Chairman Mao.

KIM IL SUNG: Preserved body of the man considered to be the founding father of North Korea was unveiled on July 8, 1995. It lies under glass for viewing purposes in the Kumsusan mausoleum, a cavernous former presidential palace.

KIM JONG IL: The leader's body, still in his trademark khaki jumpsuit, was unveiled on December 17, 2012, the anniversary of his death. It rests a few floors below the body of his father, Kim Il Sung, in the Kumsusan mausoleum.

VLADIMIR LENIN: Body of Soviet Union's founder has been displayed since January 1924 in a mausoleum at Red Square. His tomb is one of Moscow's most famous symbols and Communists consider it almost a shrine. The embalment for display is considered the model for subsequent Communist world leaders put on exhibit.