Assange was a bright kid, says stepfather

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA : Beleaguered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was a bright kid, with a strong sense of right and wrong, and he always fought for the underdog, his stepfather has said.

Brett Assange, who lives in Sydney's inner suburbs, helped raise Julian from the age of one, the Herald Sun reported Wednesday.

"He was very sharp, he was very sure of himself," he said. Brett said Julian was "quite sophisticated in his way, not just as far as his sense of humour but in the way he looked at the world".

"A bright boy with a keen sense of right and wrong," he said. "He always stood up for the underdog with his school friends. He certainly wouldn't take no for an answer."

Brett said he "wholeheartedly" supported Julian, who has been denied bail in a London court following his arrest in Britain on a Swedish warrant for suspected sex crimes. Julian has denied the charges.