An ex-CIA employee working as a contractor at the US National Security Agency says HE is the man who leaked details of a top secret US surveillance program.

29-year-old Edward Snowden said he felt his country was building an unaccountable and secret espionage machine that spied on every American. Both the Washington Post and Britain's Guardian newspapers published his identity on Sunday. Snowden is a former CIA technical assistant. He decided to break his silence after becoming disenchanted with Obama.

He says the president has continued the policies of predecessor George W. Bush. Three weeks ago, Snowden copied the secret documents at the NSA office in Hawaii where he works. He told his supervisor he needed "a couple of weeks" off for treatment for epilepsy. On May 20th he flew to Hong Kong.

He said "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent". Snowden said he's hoping that Iceland, which values Internet freedom, might grant him asylum.