Snowden hired to work on Russian website: Lawyer

MOSCOW (AFP) - US security leaker Edward Snowden is set to start a new job at a major Russian website, three months after the fugitive was given asylum in Russia, his lawyer said on Thursday.

"Edward Snowden will start working at a big Russian company on Friday, November 1. His job will be to support and develop a major Russian website," lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Interfax news agency.

Tantalisingly, Mr Kucherena declined to give the name of the company, citing security concerns.

Speculation over Mr Snowden's new employer centred on the Russian equivalent of Facebook, Vkontakte, whose charismatic founder Pavel Durov publicly offered Mr Snowden a post in August.

Its press secretary Georgy Lobushkin told RIA Novosti news agency he could not comment.

Two other major Russian Internet companies, Mail.Ru Group and Yandex said they had not hired Mr Snowden, RIA Novosti reported.

Mr Snowden received temporary asylum in Russia in August after exposing massive surveillance by the US National Security Agency. Since then he has been living in hiding.

His lawyer has said in interviews that the fugitive is running short of money.

So far a supporters' website has raised almost US$49,000 (S$60,627) in donations.

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