Edward Snowden

Russia has extended Edward Snowden's residency for "a couple of years", according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In a post on Facebook, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote: "Snowden's residency in Russia has just been extended by another couple of years".

The former US intelligence contractor was granted an initial three-year Russian residency visa in 2014.

Leaked documents reportedly show that Chinese spies hacked large amounts of data relating to the design of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet.

Media reports suggest the alleged cyber theft is revealed in documents leaked to the German magazine Der Spiegel by former US security analyst Edward Snowden.

The F-35 is a stealth bomber developed by the US-based defence firm Lockheed Martin. The Royal Air Force is among the major customers for the jet.

The Sydney Morning Herald cites one document as saying that the theft amounts to "many terabytes of data" including information about the F-35's radar systems, engines and method for cooling exhaust gases.

Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has received a three-year residence permit from Russia, his Russian lawyer has said.

"The decision on the application has been taken and therefore starting Aug. 1 2014 Edward Snowden has received a three-year residential permit," Anatoly Kucherena said.

More: Edward Snowden appears on Putin phone-in

Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone is make a film about Edward Snowden, one of two high-profile movies in the works about the National Security Agency whistleblower.

Stone said he planned to adapt The Snowden Files: The Inside Story Of The World's Most Wanted Man, a book by Guardian journalist Luke Harding.

The Platoon director will have stiff competition however: Sony Pictures purchased the big-screen rights to Glenn Greenwald's No Place To Hide: Edward Snowden, The NSA And The US Surveillance State. The film is being produced by James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.

Stone has advocated for the former NSA contract systems analyst, who is living in Russia on a temporary grant of asylum after leaking massive amounts of agency documents to the media.

"To me, Snowden is a hero because he revealed secrets that we should all know, that the United States has repeatedly violated the Fourth Amendment," Stone said at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic.

American opinion on whether computer analyst Edward Snowden patriot or traitor has swung significantly after an interview was aired on US television.

Snowden leaked US intelligence information but in the interview he insisted he was a patriot. During the course of it, he managed to persuade people watching at home.

ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore reports:

Whistleblower Edward Snowden has told NBC News he is "comfortable" with his actions in revealing details of the US National Security Agency's surveillance programme.

However Snowden, who is now living in exile in Russia, admitted he does feel a "sense of loss" at not being able to return to the US.

Read: Edward Snowden in TV interview: I want to go home