InvalidXmlRequest error for Azure REST API request - rest

Question

I am using the Azure REST API to create an Azure storage account using the documentation at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh264518.aspx
I keep getting the 400 error with code InvalidXmlRequest ("The request body's XML was invalid or not correctly specified."). The only related thread seemed to be at Management API - The request body XML was invalid or not correctly specified - I have tried several variations on my request (like removing xml header, removing empty elements from body, etc.) but still see the same error.
There is no requestId in the response header either (to get more info using GET OperationStatus).
The complete RAW request and response (for one of my trials) is below.
Any ideas on what I am missing here?
Request:
POST https://management.core.windows.net/<mysubscriptionid>/services/storageservices HTTP/1.1
x-ms-version: 2011-06-01
Content-Type: application/xml
Host: management.core.windows.net
Content-Length: 350
Expect: 100-continue
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><CreateStorageServiceInput xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windowsAzure"><ServiceName>gjhgkjhgkgk</ServiceName><Description /><Label>gjhgkjhgkgk</Label><AffinityGroup /><Location>North Central US</Location><GeoReplicationEnabled>true</GeoReplicationEnabled><ExtendedProperties /></CreateStorageServiceInput>
Response:
HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
Content-Length: 228
Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
Server: Microsoft-HTTPAPI/2.0
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 02:33:08 GMT
<Error xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windowsazure" xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"><Code>InvalidXmlRequest</Code><Message>The request body's XML was invalid or not correctly specified.</Message></Error>

Answer 1

2 things I noticed:
Value in label element should be base64 encoded as mentioned in the documentation here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsazure/hh264518.aspx.
Label Required. A name for the storage account specified as a
base64-encoded string. The name may be up to 100 characters in length.
The name can be used identify the storage account for your tracking
purposes.
Not related to your problem per se but you're trying to create a storage account in North Central US region. Please note that you can't create new resources in North Central and South Central US region.