Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been given a date for his appeal against extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sexual assault.

Investigators have gone to court to demand details about WikiLeaks' Twitter account, according to documents obtained today - the first revelation about the criminal case Washington is trying to build against those who leaked classified US documents.

More than 100 demonstrators gathered outside the British Embassy in Madrid tonight to protest at the detention of the founder of the WikiLeaks website and the closing of the site's Swiss bank account.

Wikileaks supporters are downloading increasing amounts of the spam-shooting software used to attack companies seen as hostile - a development that could challenge even internet giants such as PayPal and Amazon.com during the crucial Christmas shopping season.

Governments around the world must not “shoot the messenger” by attacking disclosures by WikiLeaks, Julian Assange said today.

Australia would give consular help to WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange if he is arrested abroad, the government said today.

Whistle-blowing organisation WikiLeaks has set up a private limited company in Iceland for administrative purposes as part of a move to restructure its global operations, a spokesman said today.