Wikileaks Phenomenon

Time Magazine proclaimed it "could become as important a journalistic tool as the Freedom of Information Act."

Swiss bank Julius Baer is desperately trying to shut it down, or as they put it, "it just wanted stolen and forged documents removed".

This phenomenon, known as Wikileaks, is as elusive and indestructible as Nightcrawler, the shape-shifter from the comic X-Men. It is accessed by typing "Wikileaks" in the Google search engine, and by finding the website with the word "wikileaks" in it, be it "wikileaks.de", "wikileaks.cz", or "wikileaks.org".

It protects itself from being shut down by having numerous mirror domains, from Belgium, the UK and Czech Republic. The deleted main Wikileaks site could be accessed, slightly less conveniently, by using its IP number (88.80.13.160).

The code it uses to disguise itself is, ironically derived from the US Navy, one of the many government sites whose secrets Wikileaks expose.

However, that has not stopped Swiss bank Julius Baer from trying to shut it down - they went after the root of the site, Dynadot, to close one of its sites, "wikileaks.org". The Californian judge hearing this case has ruled in favour of the Swiss bank, but hours later, called for a second hearing this Friday.