Iceland may become investigative haven

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Wikileaks hopes to convert Iceland into a friendly home for investigative journalists with laws friendly to whistleblowers, its editor says.

Julian Assange, editor of Wikileaks, told the BBC the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative has been working with members of the Icelandic Parliament to bring together the most favorable laws from around the world.

"If it then has these additional media and publishing law protections, then it is likely to encourage the international press and Internet start-ups to locate their services here," Assange said Friday. "The Icelandic press has itself suffered from libel tourism, so there does seem to be the political will to push this through."

Wikileaks, a non-profit, has published leaked documents including a description of procedures for treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and a list of names and addresses of members of the British National Party. The site has had to stop operations because of money troubles.

Iceland also has money troubles after a brief period has an international investment banking center. The country owes billions of dollars to depositors in its banks.