Milosevic's body was laid in state in the museum building around 1.30 pm. The museum will be open until 11 pm or longer if necessary, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) said in a statement.
Several hundred reporters and TV crews gathered in front of the museum, with live coverage provided by the local Palma Plus TV station from Jagodina whose programmes are available to a large number of viewers considering the fact that the cable network is widely used in Serbia.
The SPS was allowed to put the coffin with Milosevic's body on display in the Museum of the Revolution until Saturday in line with a decision by the Serbian Government's Department for Property, which owns the complex "25. maj", which also includes the House of Flowers with the grave of Josip Broz Tito.
The head of the museum, Ljiljana Cetinic, on Thursday issued a written statement protesting against the government's decision which she said was unprecedented and violated the independence of that cultural institution and culture in general, abusing them for political purposes.
Despite Cetinic's opposition, the decision was made after the head of Belgrade's convention centre "Sava", Jasna Dimitrijevic, on Wednesday refused a request by Serbian government secretary-general Dejan Mihajlov and the head of the Prime Minister's cabinet, Aleksandar Nikitovic, that the coffin with Milosevic's body be put on display in the convention centre.
Authorities in Milosevic's hometown of Pozarevac on Thursday granted permission for the former Yugoslav leader to be buried in the grounds of his family home in the centre of the town, about 80 kilometres southeast of Belgrade.
SPS officials have announced a farewell ceremony to be held in front of the parliament at noon on Saturday.