WikiLeaks' Assange Reaches Book Deal With U.S. Publisher

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has reached a deal with a U.S. publisher to write a book about his life and his organization.

The New York publisher Alfred A. Knopf has confirmed that the company has reached a deal with the 39-year-old Assange, who is expected to deliver a manuscript in 2011.

No publication date for the book has yet been set.

Assange earlier told Britain's "Sunday Times" newspaper that he was agreeing to book deals worth some $1.3 million in order to pay the costs of defending himself in legal cases and to keep WikiLeaks operating.

Assange, an Australian citizen, has angered the U.S. government by releasing secret U.S. diplomatic cables.

He is also fighting extradition from Britain to Sweden, where authorities want to question him in connection with alleged sexual misconduct with two Swedish women.

compiled from agency reports