B757 FLT CREW HAS ELECTRICAL FUMES IN CABIN AREA; DECLARES EMER AND DIVERTS TO IAH.

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ABOUT XA00Z AS WE WERE COASTING OUT S OF HOUSTON OUR FLT ATTENDANT CALLED AND STATED THEY HAD A BURNING SMELL IN THE FRONT OF COACH. I ASKED THEM TO WAKE THE RELIEF PLT AND HAVE HIM CHK THE AREA. THE RELIEF PLT CALLED AND SAID THE SMELL WAS LIKE A BURNING ELECTRICAL RUBBER. HE CAME TO THE FLT DECK AND I WENT TO THE CABIN. HALFWAY INTO FIRST CLASS I COULD ALSO DETECT THE ODOR. THE FLT ATTENDANT AND NUMEROUS PAX WERE ALSO SAYING THAT THE SMELL HAD BEEN GETTING STRONGER. I RETURNED TO THE FLT DECK AND TOLD THE FO THAT I DID NOT THINK IT WAS BEST TO HEAD OUT OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO WITH A BURNING SMELL THAT WE COULD NOT FIND THE SOURCE OF. BEING THE NEXT POINT OF LNDG WOULD MOST LIKELY BE MERIDA WITH LITTLE TO NO ACR SVCS I FOUND IT BEST TO HEAD INTO IAH. EVERYONE ON THE CREW WAS NOTIFIED AND WE DECLARED AN EMER AT XA15. WE WERE 125 MI OR SO OUT OF IAH. THE FO WAS FLYING THE ACFT THE RELIEF PLT NOTIFIED DISPATCH AND I SPOKE TO THE PAX AND ATC. WE TOUCHED DOWN AT XA27 LOTS OF DIFFICULTY ON THE TWR FREQ. BUT DID GET A GREEN LIGHT FROM THE TWR. XA28 CRASH CREW INSPECTED THE ACFT NO VISIBLE PROBS XA33 ODOR WAS NO LONGER IN THE CABIN. XA35 TAXIED TO GATE. LOOKING BACK I THINK THAT OUR LOCATION REALLY DID NOT GIVE US THE TIME TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT WE DID. LOOKING TOWARD THE GULF IS NOT THE TIME TO GO LOOKING FOR A SOURCE OF A BURNING SMELL. THE FO AND RELIEF PLT DID AN EXCELLENT JOB. THE FLT ATTENDANT WENT ABOVE THE NORMAL LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE TO ACCOMPLISH GETTING EVERYTHING READY FOR A LNDG IN 12 MINS. GETTING FROM A FULL SVC TO READY FOR LNDG AND REASSURING THE PAX IN THAT AMOUNT OF TIME IS TO BE COMMENDED.