The US government's legal hunt for Julian Assange will begin in a magistrates court in Virginia today when its Attorney General seeks a disclosure order on Twitter to obtain the names, dates and locations of anyone using its services to communicate with WikiLeaks.

However, the Herald has been told Twitter intends to fight the order, claiming it is too broad and breaches its right to protect the confidentiality and free speech of its users.

Julian Assange ... life in the shadows.

The new demands could affect thousands of individuals all over the world, including Australia, Britain and the US.

A court order was sent to Twitter on December 14 by the US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, demanding details about the accounts of Mr Assange and Private Bradley Manning, the army intelligence analyst suspected of supplying classified information to WikiLeaks.