Gary McKinnon, 42, faces extradition from Britain to the US where he could be jailed for up to 70 years if convicted of sabotaging US defence systems in 2001 and 2002.

He says he was looking for evidence of UFOs and insists he was motivated by curiosity.

US authorities allege he gained access to 97 computers belonging to bodies including the army, navy, defence department and NASA.

But Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University, a leading expert on Asperger's Syndrome, said what McKinnon did was "the activity of somebody with a disability rather than a criminal activity".

"It can bring a sort of tunnel vision so that in their pursuit of truth, they are blind to the potential social consequences for them or for other people," he added of the syndrome, which is characterised by difficulties in social interaction.

"There are questions about whether he should be imprisoned at all because someone with Asperger's Syndrome will find it very difficult to tolerate a prison environment."

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