No evidence US government accounts hacked: official

The White House has no reason to believe that Gmail accounts of senior government officials were hacked in a cyber spying campaign originating in China, an official said Wednesday.

"We're looking into these reports and are seeking to gather the facts," an official said on condition of anonymity.

"We have no reason to believe that any official US government email accounts were accessed," the official said, referring other queries to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Google said earlier that a cyber spying campaign originating in China had targeted Gmail accounts of senior US officials, military personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists.

Those affected included senior US government officials, Chinese political activists, military personnel, journalists and officials in several Asian countries, predominately South Korea, the company said.

(c) 2011 AFP