Snowden accepts Venezuelan offer, says Russian official

The head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee says Edward Snowden has accepted Venezuela's offer of political asylum.

Alexei Pushkov made the statement on his Twitter account today. The message did not clarify how he learned of Snowden's purported acceptance, but Pushkov has acted as an unofficial point-man for the Kremlin on the Snowden affair.

Snowden, who revealed details of a US intelligence programme to monitor Internet activity, came to Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on June 23 and was believed to be headed for Cuba.

But he did not board that flight and has not been seen since. He is widely believed to be still in the airport's transit zone.