UPDATE: Assange May Be Released on Bail

Update 2: It turns out the decision is more complex, Alexi Mostrous reports. It turns out Swedish prosecutors have two hours to file an appeal, and Assange lawyer told Mostrous that he doesn't expect Assange to be released tonight. The Guardian live blog has this to say, "Hang on. Swedish prosecutors plan to launch an appeal against the decision to grant Assange bail. They have two hours to do lodge an appeal. Assange will not be freed until that process is over."

Update 1: Heather Brooke, covering the Assange bail hearing, reports that Assange has been released on bail "with conditions." Jim Sciutto reports that his bail is 200,000 pounds and that he'll have to wear an electronic tag and respect a curfew. He'll have to give up his passport, too. His next hearing is scheduled for January 11.

Julian Assange's hearing on whether he'll be extradited to Sweden to answer for charges of rape has begun in London. It's apparently quite a media circus. The presiding judge, Howard Riddle, had to apologize that the courtroom was too small to hold everyone.

The best way to follow this is through the live tweets from the UK courtroom. The Times of London's Alexi Mostrous and The Guardian's Heather Brooke are Tweeting it live and ABC's Jim Sciutto appears to be in the room as well. We've created a Twitter list, so you can easily follow their Tweets, even if you're not on the service. UPDATE: And, as always, the Guardian's live coverage is spectacular.

You can read a lot more about Julian Assange and the WikiLeaks case at our running page of links to the best writing on the topic.