HE MAY look fairly comfortable in this photo, seated on a leather couch with a cup of tea, but in reality WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange slept in the ladies bathroom of the Ecuadorian embassy last night.

And the night before that. And the night before that.

The fugitive who was given sanctuary in the Ecuadorian embassy in London told WHO magazine that he moved into the bathroom because it was the only way to get a quiet night's kip.

"I couldn't sleep because of the Harrods loading bay and the cops always doing shift changes outside," he said. "And the quietest room is the women's bathroom, the only room that's easy to sleep in. So I thought I'd try and somehow get hold of it and renovate it.

"You can imagine how hard it is in an embassy, which has a female ambassador, to try to take over the best women's bathroom. Eventually, somewhat reluctantly, the staff relented. They ripped out the toilet. They've been very generous."

Assange is completely dependent on friends and colleagues for his daily needs, like popping out for some snacks from Harrods across the road.

He uses a sunlamp to keep his Vitamin D levels up and he exercises by boxing with a former British soldier.

During the day Assange and his two assistants work at a round table that fits four laptops and a host of tangled cables. Assange's pet goldfish sits atop a nearby mantelpiece in an aquarium. There is no bed, but a maroon couch sits against the wall.

The WikiLeaks founder says that he misses the outside world. The Ecuadorian minister is lobbying for Assange's "fundamental right" to sunbathe.

"I miss all the outside world, obviously," he said. "Australian friends bring me flannel shirts, Vegemite, Tim Tams and gum leaves."

He's had some visitors, some very famous ones in fact, including Yoko Ono, Lady Gaga, John Cusak, Vivienne Westwood and members of Russian band Pussy Riot.

But that doesn't stop the paranoia from setting in.

Assange admitted he was concerned that his food - which is brought in by embassy staff - was being poisoned.

"They might track the place down," he said. "They might put something in there that won't kill me, but make me very sick so I'll have to go to hospital."

"They" presumably refers to US secret forces.

Assange is scared of being forced outside and captured. He says he does not want to end up like Bradley Manning, the US soldier who was this week sentenced to 128 years in prison for releasing classified information to WikiLeaks.

He is concerned for his family too.

"American right-wingers put out a call that the way to get me was to 'take out' my eldest son," says Assange. "

My son has had to move, change all his identities. My mother has had to move, too. There are many death threats made to the lawyers."

Assange - who is running for a seat in the Australian Senate - has been living in asylum for 400 days. And there's no knowing when he will next be free.

Read all about Assange's greatest fears, ambitions in the latest edition of WHO magazine on shelves this week.