Swedish authorities say they have issued an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, on accusations of rape and molestation.
The warrant was issued late on Friday, said Karin Rosander, communications head at Sweden's prosecutors' office.
Swedish police have been trying to contact Mr Assange, but have been unable to so far, she told the BBC.
On Twitter, Wikileaks, which has leaked Afghan war documents, quoted him saying the charges were "without basis".
The message, attributed directly to Mr Assange, said the appearance of the allegations "at this moment is deeply disturbing".
In a series of other messages posted on the Wikileaks Twitter feed, the whistle-blowing website said: "No-one here has been contacted by Swedish police" and said it had been warned to expect "dirty tricks".
