U.S. website sued for posting Palin book excerpts

NEW YORK, USA: Former U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's publisher, HarperCollins, has sued a U.S. news and gossip website for publishing excerpts of her new book before its planned release on Tuesday.

A Manhattan federal judge ordered Gawker Media's website www.gawker.com on Saturday to remove 21 pages that it had posted online from Palin's second book "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag."

"The publishing world is LEAKING out-of-context excerpts of my book w/out my permission? Isn't that illegal?" Palin, the former Alaskan governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, wrote on Twitter.

HarperCollins, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, is seeking unspecified damages, according to its copyright infringement lawsuit. An attorney for the New York based publisher did not immediately return a telephone call.

The case is due to be heard in court on Nov. 30.

Palin has signaled she may run for the Republican presidential nomination in the next election, saying last week that she thinks she could beat President Barack Obama in 2012.

Palin's first book, "Going Rogue," has sold more than 2.2. million copies and the champion of the conservative Tea Party movement is due to embark on a 16-stop tour to promote her second book.

The book tour also coincides with an eight-part TV series on the TLC network called "Sarah Palin's Alaska," which promotes the scenic wonders of her home state and stars Palin and her family.