Wikileaks founder denied residency in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange has been denied a residency and work permit in Sweden, local media reported Monday.

Swedish Migration Board officials declined to offer details, citing confidentiality rules.

Assange, an Australian national, filed the application in August. A few days later it emerged that he had been accused of rape, which he has denied.

WikiLeaks shot to prominence in July, after the Internet site, which campaigns for freedom of information, published thousands of classified US documents relating to the conduct of the war in Afghanistan.

Assange's visit to Sweden was part of the publication of leaked Pentagon papers relating to the Afghan conflict.

The whistle-blowing site is reported to be preparing to release new documents on the Iraq war.