As swiftly as it was announced, Edward Snowden's schedule of virtual appearances in Australia has been dramatically curtailed.

ThinkInc, the edu-tainment firm that originally planned for the ex-National Security Agency contractor-turned-whistleblower to make live video appearances in nearly all of Australia's capital cities, has reduced those appearances to just two – Sydney and Melbourne.

A screenshot of an encrypted video interview with Edward Snowden. Think Inc co-founder Suzi Jamil (bottom right) was the intermediary putting Fairfax Media's questions to the US whistleblower in Russia.

"Regrettably, due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, we have been forced to cancel the Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Brisbane shows," the group said in a statement to ticket buyers.

Asked the reason for the change in planning, ThinkInc director Suzi Jamil​ said: "There is a range of reasons for the cancellation of other cities.