The founder of whistleblower website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has faced a hearing at a court in London.

Assange was driven to London's high-security Belmarsh Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, accompanied by his lawyer Mark Stephens.

Wearing a navy blue suit and a dark tie, the silver-haired Assange appeared relaxed as he appeared in the dock behind a glass screen. Before the hearing he laughed and joked with two female prison officials.

The procedural hearing lasted for only about 10 minutes.

Assange will now face a full extradition hearing on February 7-8, when a judge will examine Sweden's demand to extradite him to face sexual assault allegations.

The extradition hearing will take place in the same court, which can accommodate more journalists than the smaller court in central London where Assange has appeared previously.

"We are happy about today's outcome," Assange told journalists after the hearing.

"Our work with WikiLeaks continues unabated."

Assange is currently on bail in Britain fighting the bid by Sweden.

The 39-year-old Australian is denying the allegations, and says Sweden's attempts to secure his extradition are politically motivated.

The judge is expected to decide on the date of the extradition hearing, as well as what documents and witnesses will be used.

Assange has overseen the release of thousands of US diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks website.

Media reports suggest US prosecutors are also trying to build a case against him on the grounds that he encouraged a US soldier, Bradley Manning, to steal cables from a government computer and pass them to WikiLeaks.

-ABC/AFP