“Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” has brought British band Coldplay the second-best debut of 2008, topping the Billboard 200 album chart with over 720,000 copies sold in its first week.

Coldplay can now rest assured that their loyal fans have remained loyal. The release of their fourth studio album, “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends,” was warmly welcomed by fans both in the UK and the US, as proven by the project’s high position on album charts.

One week into its release, “Viva la Vida” has already sold over 720,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This follows the success of 2005’s “X&Y,” which also debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200, with 737,000 copies sold in its first week.

This is the second week at No. 1 in the UK for the band.

It is also confirmation that their original marketing approach paid off. In late April, the band’s website was generously updated to provide fans with the album’s official artwork, French painter Eugène Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People,” and the free release of “Violet Hill,” the first single off the album.

A video soon followed as have free concert dates at Brixton Academy, London, Madison Square Garden and in Barcelona. The four musicians, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion, are also ruling the album charts in Japan, Australia, Canada, France and Germany, according to Capitol Records.

The single “Viva la Vida” is also No. 1 in both the United States and Britain.

Coldplay’s victory comes one week after Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” became the top album of the year, by breaking a three-year dry spell and selling over 1 million copies in its first week.

Exact numbers from Billboard.com are to come Wednesday, June 25.