LONDON  The Swedish prosecutor’s office said Thursday that a court in Stockholm had approved its request for arrest warrants to be issued for Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks Web site, for questioning on charges of rape and other sexual offenses. Mr. Assange has strongly denied the accusations.

Marianne Ny, director of the Stockholm prosecutor’s office, said in a statement that she had moved to have Mr. Assange extradited to Sweden on suspicion of “rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.” The accusations were first made against Mr. Assange, 39, an Australian who created the whistle-blowers’ site, after he traveled to Sweden in mid-August and had brief relationships with two Swedish women that he has described as consensual.

Ms. Ny said in a telephone interview that the court had approved two arrest warrants, one applicable within the European Union and the other an international warrant that would be issued through Interpol. She said she had acted because “there is a risk of him fleeing.”

A Swedish court will ultimately decide whether to proceed with the charges, Ms. Ny said, as well as whether Mr. Assange should be detained or freed on bail.