The US justice department has filed criminal charges against a fugitive ex-intelligence analyst who leaked details of a secret surveillance operation.
The charges against ex-National Security Agency (NSA) analyst Edward Snowden include espionage and theft of government property.
In May, Mr Snowden fled to Hong Kong after leaking details of a programme to monitor phone and internet data.
The US is also reported to be preparing an extradition request.
His leaks revealed that US agencies had systematically gathered vast amounts of phone and web data.
The criminal complaint was lodged with a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia and a provisional arrest warrant had been issued, court documents show.