Ecuador's president will meet officials on Wednesday to assess the application for political asylum by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Officials in the country have stressed that the move does not signal that a decision about the 41-year-old's future has already been made.

Mr Assange has been taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for the past two months.

He is seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden where he faces sex assault allegations, which he strenuously denies.

He fears he could be extradited to the United States if he goes to Sweden.

An official spokesman for the Ecuadorian government said on Tuesday night: "Reports that a decision has been reached are premature and, it seems, the result of over-enthusiastic journalists short on facts but high on speculation."

An offer by Ecuador for Swedish investigators to interview Mr Assange at the embassy in London was turned down.