Coldplay's hugely anticipated new album "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends" has easily secured the No. 1 slot on this week's Official U.K. Albums Chart, selling 302,000 units in just three-days at retail.

It means the album has sold a platinum-certification quantity (300,000 copies) in less than half a week. "Viva La Vida" has actually certified double-platinum, because its shipments to retail have exceeeded 600,000 to-date.

Despite its unusual mid-week release, sales of the EMI recording outstripped the top five biggest selling sets in the U.K., all of which had the benefit of a full-week on-sale, according to charts compiler the Official U.K. Charts Company.

The "Viva La Vida" burst has positioned the album just outside the top 10 of Britain's historical best-selling first-week album sales, a tally led by Oasis' 1997 set "Be Here Now (Creation), which shifted 663,000.

Of Coldplay's four studio albums, only "X&Y from 2005 has enjoyed stronger opening sales, selling 465,000 in its first week on the racks in the United Kingdom.

Coldplay's live campaign kicks into gear tonight, with a concert at London's Brixton Academy, the first of three free international concerts. "Viva La Vida" opens at retail Tuesday in the United States.