>WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has always advocated complete transparency, but now he's learning exactly what that entails.
Journalists have been poring over the details of Mr Assange's life since his arrest in London - Germany's biggest news and current affairs magazine Stern has 15 reporters digging into every aspect of his life for a feature article - and now cyber sleuths have uncovered his cocky internet dating and couchsurfing.com profiles.
"Passionate, and often pig headed activist intellectual seeks siren for love affair, children and occasional criminal conspiracy," he writes in his dating profile on the OkCupid website under the alter ego "Harry Harrison".
"Such a woman should be spirited and playful, of high intelligence, though not necessarily formally educated, have spunk, class and inner strength and be able to think strategically about the world and the people she cares about."
Dormant since just after WikiLeaks launched at the end of 2006, the profile contains several brooding photos of Mr Assange alongside his stated desire to meet "women from countries that have sustained political turmoil". Western women, he writes, are "valueless and inane".
Following immense media interest over the past few days, the profile has been restricted so that only OkCupid members can view it. Mr Assange has copped some ridicule for confessing to being "87% slut" and writing that the most private thing he is willing to admit is: "I have asian teengirl stalkers."
Some have debated the authenticity of the dating profile but, considering it was created well before Mr Assange became famous, and contains several photographs of Mr Assange that haven't previously been released, it appears to be legitimate.
OkCupid founder Sam Yagan told Mashable the "last login" details led him to believe the profile was legitimate "because it would have required someone four years ago to have foreseen that this would have been an interesting thing to do".
Web sleuths have also uncovered what appears to be Mr Assange's profile on CouchSurfing.com, a site where travellers can meet hosts who are happy to let them sleep on their couches. The "HarryHarrison" profile, also viewable only to members of the site, appears to have been created about the same time as the OkCupid profile and was last accessed in Budapest in July 2008.
On the CouchSurfing profile Mr Assange lists his occupation as "investigative journalist/rabble rouser" and says he grew up in a "theatre family" so was "always on tour".
He describes himself as a "grown up enfant terrible" and says he has seen or done "attempted assassinations in Africa", "telephone taps in Australia", "election rigging", "Russian mafia" and "politicians' wives".
Mr Assange received top reviews from fellow CouchSurfers with one saying there is "hardly anyone more interesting than him" and another writing the he is "eloquent, intellectual, enjoyable, open". However, the latter adds that she had the impression Mr Assange "lost the understanding of some basic rules of politeness on the way. But if you tell the hacker not to hack in real terms, he will understand and respect it".
On the dating profile Mr Assange lists his location as Melbourne, says he drinks "socially" but never does drugs, doesn't smoke and is an atheist.
While Sweden wants to question him over sexual misconduct allegations, Mr Assange says on his profile that, although he is "pretty intellectually and physically pugnacious", he is "very protective of women and children". However, strangely, he signs off his self-summary with the words "I am danger, achtung".
Mr Assange explains further down that he is directing a "consuming, dangerous human rights project" that is male dominated. He describes himself as being involved in international journalism/books, documentaries, cryptography, intelligence agencies, civil rights, political activism, white collar crime and the internet.
"Often carrying mystery brown paper packages tied up with strings; these are a few of my first things," he writes in an apparent allusion to the song made famous in The Sound of Music.
As one might expect, Mr Assange spends a lot of time thinking about "changing the world through passion, inspiration and trickery".
But he definitely knows what he's looking for, telling prospective mates not to write to him if they are timid ("I am too busy") and that he's after "a spirited, erotic, non-comformist".
Resoucre : sydney morning herald
Journalists have been poring over the details of Mr Assange's life since his arrest in London - Germany's biggest news and current affairs magazine Stern has 15 reporters digging into every aspect of his life for a feature article - and now cyber sleuths have uncovered his cocky internet dating and couchsurfing.com profiles.
"Passionate, and often pig headed activist intellectual seeks siren for love affair, children and occasional criminal conspiracy," he writes in his dating profile on the OkCupid website under the alter ego "Harry Harrison".
"Such a woman should be spirited and playful, of high intelligence, though not necessarily formally educated, have spunk, class and inner strength and be able to think strategically about the world and the people she cares about."
Dormant since just after WikiLeaks launched at the end of 2006, the profile contains several brooding photos of Mr Assange alongside his stated desire to meet "women from countries that have sustained political turmoil". Western women, he writes, are "valueless and inane".
Following immense media interest over the past few days, the profile has been restricted so that only OkCupid members can view it. Mr Assange has copped some ridicule for confessing to being "87% slut" and writing that the most private thing he is willing to admit is: "I have asian teengirl stalkers."
Some have debated the authenticity of the dating profile but, considering it was created well before Mr Assange became famous, and contains several photographs of Mr Assange that haven't previously been released, it appears to be legitimate.
OkCupid founder Sam Yagan told Mashable the "last login" details led him to believe the profile was legitimate "because it would have required someone four years ago to have foreseen that this would have been an interesting thing to do".
Web sleuths have also uncovered what appears to be Mr Assange's profile on CouchSurfing.com, a site where travellers can meet hosts who are happy to let them sleep on their couches. The "HarryHarrison" profile, also viewable only to members of the site, appears to have been created about the same time as the OkCupid profile and was last accessed in Budapest in July 2008.
On the CouchSurfing profile Mr Assange lists his occupation as "investigative journalist/rabble rouser" and says he grew up in a "theatre family" so was "always on tour".
He describes himself as a "grown up enfant terrible" and says he has seen or done "attempted assassinations in Africa", "telephone taps in Australia", "election rigging", "Russian mafia" and "politicians' wives".
Mr Assange received top reviews from fellow CouchSurfers with one saying there is "hardly anyone more interesting than him" and another writing the he is "eloquent, intellectual, enjoyable, open". However, the latter adds that she had the impression Mr Assange "lost the understanding of some basic rules of politeness on the way. But if you tell the hacker not to hack in real terms, he will understand and respect it".
On the dating profile Mr Assange lists his location as Melbourne, says he drinks "socially" but never does drugs, doesn't smoke and is an atheist.
While Sweden wants to question him over sexual misconduct allegations, Mr Assange says on his profile that, although he is "pretty intellectually and physically pugnacious", he is "very protective of women and children". However, strangely, he signs off his self-summary with the words "I am danger, achtung".
Mr Assange explains further down that he is directing a "consuming, dangerous human rights project" that is male dominated. He describes himself as being involved in international journalism/books, documentaries, cryptography, intelligence agencies, civil rights, political activism, white collar crime and the internet.
"Often carrying mystery brown paper packages tied up with strings; these are a few of my first things," he writes in an apparent allusion to the song made famous in The Sound of Music.
As one might expect, Mr Assange spends a lot of time thinking about "changing the world through passion, inspiration and trickery".
But he definitely knows what he's looking for, telling prospective mates not to write to him if they are timid ("I am too busy") and that he's after "a spirited, erotic, non-comformist".
Resoucre : sydney morning herald