Obama to deliver eulogy for Biden's son

US President Barack Obama will deliver a eulogy Saturday at the burial of Vice President Joe Biden's son Beau, who died of cancer aged 46.

The White House said that memorial events for the former military lawyer and Delaware attorney general will begin Thursday, culminating in a burial mass on Saturday.

Beau Biden died last Saturday, after undergoing treatment at the Walter Reed Medical Center just outside Washington.

His death was another personal tragedy to befall the US vice president, who early in his political career lost his first wife and a young daughter in a car crash.

His son will lie in honor and have a public viewing on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday there will be a "Mass of Christian Burial" at St Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic church in Wilmington, Delaware.

"President Obama will deliver a eulogy in honor of Beau Biden at this mass," the White House said.

In an earlier statement, Beau Biden's family said "he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life."

"The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau's spirit will live on in all of us -- especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter."

The White House has opened an online book of condolence, as tributes have poured in from politicians at home and abroad.