WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has confirmed that he will fight extradition to the United States, where he is accused of conspiring to hack a government computer.

At a court hearing Thursday, Assange said he would not surrender to extradition for doing what he called "journalism that has won many awards."

Assange appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court by video link from London's Belmarsh Prison, where he is serving a 50-week sentence for skipping bail in 2012 and taking refuge in the embassy of Ecuador.

British police arrested him last month after Ecuador revoked his political asylum.