People can be seen on the beach of Utoeya island following the shooting.

Smoke billows from a building as people stand looking at the site of a powerful explosion that rocked central Oslo.

The youth camp at Utoeya, north west of Oslo, where a gunman dressed as a policeman open fire.

Rescue workers in the heart of Oslo following the bombings.

The man blamed for attacks on Norway's government headquarters and a youth retreat said he was motivated by a desire to bring about a revolution in Norwegian society, his lawyer said Sunday.

Police and his lawyer have said that Anders Behring Breivik confessed to the twin attacks, but denied criminal responsibility for a day that shook peaceful Norway to its core and was the deadliest ever in peacetime. He has been charged with terrorism and will be arraigned on Monday.

In all, 92 people were killed in the attacks and 97 were wounded. There are still people missing at both scenes, and divers were searching the waters around the island Saturday for bodies.

Reuters BLAST: Rescue officials tend to a wounded man after a powerful explosion rocked central Oslo.

Norway's King Harald V and his wife Queen Sonja joined mourners for the Sunday service at Oslo's Cathedral. Flowers and candles were strewn over vast areas of the plaza outside the cathedral.

All the pews in the church were packed, and people were even standing at the back and outside, huddling under umbrellas in the rain.

Little is known about the man who police say set off a car bomb at government headquarters in Oslo and then, hours later, opened fire on young people at an island political retreat. Both targets were linked to Norway's left-leaning Labor Party, and authorities have said Breivik held anti-Muslim views and posted on Christian fundamentalist websites.

ANDERS BREIVIK, from his Twitter page

"He wanted a change in society and, from his perspective, he needed to force through a revolution," Geir Lippestad, his lawyer, told public broadcaster NRK. "He wished to attack society and the structure of society." Breivik deemed his acts "atrocious" yet "necessary".

Witnesses at the island youth retreat described the way Breivik lured them close by saying he was a police officer before raising his weapons. People hid and fled into the water to escape the rampage; some played dead.

While some on the island reported that there was a second assailant and police said they were looking into that, Lippestad said his client claims to have acted alone.

Police took 90 minutes from the first shot to reach the island, but Breivik surrendered when they reached him.

PM SLAMMED FOR TERRORISM COMMENTS

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is under fire for his remarks linking the attacks in Norway to international terrorism.

During his visit to Washington, United States, Mr Key yesterday commented on the attacks in Norway which have left at least 92 dead following a bombing and a shooting massacre.

''If it is an act of global terrorism then I think what it shows is that no country, large or small, is immune from that risk,'' Mr Key said.

''And that's why New Zealand plays its part in Afghanistan as we try and join others like the United States to make the world a safer place.''

Police are blaming an individual, 32-year-old Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, for the massacre and bombing.

Labour leader Phil Goff said Mr Key should check his facts before making such leaps.

''It's obvious the prime minister was keen to justify our presence in Afghanistan and made an assumption that has since been proven to be absolutely incorrect,'' he said.

The comments were ''premature'' and ''unfortunate''.

''The opposite problem exists - it wasn't Islamic terrorism it was a right wing Norwegian zealot concerned about immigration issues.

''Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, this event had nothing to do with the situation in Afghanistan and it was an assumption he wasn't entitled to make until he had the facts of the case.''

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said the comments were ''deeply bizarre'' and opportunistic.

''Key says we are in Afghanistan to fight Norwegian neo-nazis,'' he tweeted.

NEW ZEALAND GIRL 'WAS ON ISLAND'

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says a New Zealand girl, who has dual New Zealand and Norwegian citizenship, was believed to be on the island at the time of the attack.

The New Zealand embassy in The Hague in Holland, which was accredited to Norway, was in direct contact with the New Zealander's next of kin in Norway and there were no further updates on the situation this morning, it said.

MFAT would not disclose the person's sex or age, but the Herald on Sunday reported her mother, in Norway, was desperate for news. The girl's relatives in New Zealand had been informed she was believed to be on the island.

Aucklander Cameron Leslie, 31, was 50m from where the bomb struck and initially thought it was an earthquake.

However, it smelt a bit like fireworks or gunpowder and, as he looked around, he realised he was standing by a shop with the windows blown in, he told the Herald on Sunday.

He stood in the middle of the road to avoid falling glass amid the chaos. Some people were running away from the blast; others ran towards it. Many more simply stood around wondering what to do.

"There were people running around who had mild wounds and a few people bleeding," he said.

"It was a little bit difficult to know what to do."

Former Cantabrian Myfanwy Moore-Evensen, 37, felt the blast in her office, a 10-minute walk from the bomb site.

Her building shook with a loud thunderous rumble.

"I walked home and saw all the people wandering around going, 'What the hell has happened?','' she told the paper.

Aucklander Sara Harris was shopping with her daughter and her brother when the bomb exploded 100m away.

"I initially took it for a lightning strike, as I thought what I was hearing was thunder, the whole building shook and plaster from the ceiling rained down on us,'' she told Stuff.

Out on the street they saw the whole street was grey and it reminded her of the TV footage she viewed of the September 11 attacks.

"The sky was raining white ash, bits of paper and insulation material, and the air was grey and thick with dust and grit."

They saw an injured man and Ms Harris realised there had been an explosion.

"We were really lucky we were in the shop and away from the windows - considering how close we were. We could have been walking down that street [where the bomb went off]."

Ms Harris, her 16-year-old daughter and brother started walking home and then caught the tram. The city was in chaos, with sirens going off, ambulances zooming by and people running every where, she said.

'TRANSFORMED INTO A HELL'

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, capturing the shock this normally quiet nation of 4.8 million is experiencing, said: "A paradise island has been transformed into a hell."

Deputy Police Chief Roger Andresen would not speculate on the motives for what was believed to be the deadliest attack by a lone gunman anywhere in modern times.

''He describes himself as a Christian, leaning toward right-wing Christianity, on his Facebook page,'' Andresen said.

Initial speculation after the Oslo blast had focused on Islamist militant groups, but it appears that only Breivik - and perhaps unidentified associates - was involved.

Home-grown right-wing militancy has generated occasional attacks elsewhere, notably in the United States, where Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people with a truck bomb at a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, among many world leaders, condemned the Norway attacks. ''This tragedy strikes right at the heart of the soul of a peaceful people,'' she said.

Andresen, the deputy police chief, said the casualty toll could still rise. ``As of now we have 84 dead at Utoeya,'' he said. ``In Oslo, with the explosion and the impact it had, we are not yet sure if that number is final. At Utoeya, the water is still being searched for more victims.''

Teenagers at the lakeside camp fled screaming in panic, many leaping into the water to save themselves, when the assailant began spraying them with gunfire, witnesses said.

''I just saw people jumping into the water, about 50 people swimming towards the shore. People were crying, shaking, they were terrified,'' said Anita Lien, 42, who lives by Tyrifjord lake, a few hundred metres (yards) from Utoeya.

''They were so young, between 14 and 19 years old.''

Survivor Jorgen Benone said: ''It was total chaos...I think several lost their lives as they tried to get over to the mainland.

''I saw people being shot. I tried to sit as quietly as possible. I was hiding behind some stones. I saw him once, just 20, 30 metres away from me. I thought 'I'm terrified for my life', I thought of all the people I love.

''I saw some boats but I wasn't sure if I could trust them. I didn't know who I could trust any more.''

''We had all gathered in the main house to talk about what had happened in Oslo. Suddenly we heard shots. First we thought it was nonsense. Then everyone started running,'' one survivor, a 16-year-old called Hana, told Norway's Aftenposten.

''I saw a policeman stand there with earplugs. He said 'I'd like to gather everyone'. Then he ran in and started shooting at people. We ran down towards the beach and began to swim.''

Hana said the gunman fired at people in the water.

Many sought shelter in buildings as shots echoed across the island that was hosting the annual camp for the youth wing of the Labour Party, the dominant force in politics since World War Two. Others fled into the woods or tried to swim to safety.

Stoltenberg said he knew many of the victims personally. ''I know the young people and I know their parents,'' he said.

''And what hurts more is that this place where I have been every summer since 1979, and where I have experienced joy, commitment and security, has been hit by brutal violence - a youth paradise has been transformed into a hell.''

''What happened at Utoeya is a national tragedy,'' he said. ``Not since World War Two has our country seen a greater crime.''

EXPLOSIVES FOUND ON ISLAND

The bomb, which shook Oslo's centre in mid-afternoon, blew out the windows of the prime minister's building and damaged the finance and oil ministry buildings.

Police found undetonated explosives on Utoeya, a pine-clad island about 500 metres long.

Breivik's Facebook page appeared to have been blocked by late Friday. Earlier, it had listed interests including bodybuilding, conservative politics and freemasonry.

Norwegian media said he had set up a Twitter account a few days ago and posted a single message on July 17 saying: ''One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests.''

About 10 policemen were outside the address registered to his name in a four-storey red brick building in west Oslo.

The Norwegian daily Verdens Gang quoted a friend as saying he became a right-wing extremist in his late 20s. It said he expressed strong nationalistic views in online debates and had been a strong opponent of multi-cultural ism.

Oslo was quiet but tense after Friday's bombing in the government district littered streets with shattered masonry, glass and twisted steel. Police sealed off the area.

The district attacked is the heart of power in Norway. But security is not tight in a country unused to such violence and better known for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize and mediating in conflicts, including the Middle East and Sri Lanka.

A Utoeya survivor said she was still in shock. ''I cannot squeeze out one tear. I cannot believe it,'' wrote 23-year-old student Khamshajiny Gunaratnam on her blog.

She said participants in the summer camp were just digesting news of the Oslo bombing when they heard shooting. '''Who the hell is that joker?' we thought. Who would have thought that it actually wasn't a joke?''

Terrified, Gunaratnam hid in toilets in the main building and then fled to the shore. ''We fell and stumbled through a lot of bushes and large rocks. I got many scratches.''

When the shooting came closer, she jumped into the cold water and was eventually picked up by a rescue boat.

"Even when we had reached the boat, I could not relax ... He could still hit us with his machinegun!" Gunaratnam wrote. I did not feel safe. Not at all."

-Reuters, AP, Stuff, NZPA