WikiLeaks 'traitor' Bradley Manning desired to be woman

US soldier Bradley Manning, who is accused of helping Al-Qaeda by leaking secret files, struggled with gender identity disorder, his lawyers have said.

As the US military prepares to convict the WikiLeaks 'traitor', a story has emerged of his desire to become a woman.

Facts have emerged about Manning's background and sexuality, which has gained sympathy among online and gay and transgender communities.

Manning once told a school friend that he was gay, and entered in a relationship with another young man.

According to news.com.au, he attended a gay rights movement rally and told a reporter that he has been living a double life.

In April 2010, just as WikiLeaks was publishing the helicopter attack video, Manning sent an email to a senior officer, saying he was suffering from gender dysphoria.

The message had an attachment, a photograph of himself dressed as a woman.

The report said that after Manning's arrest in May in 2010, information came to light about hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment literature found in his Baghdad barracks.

Manning had been calling himself Breanna, and had set up Twitter and YouTube accounts in Breanna's name to give her a digital presence.

Weeks before his arrest, Manning posted on Facebook that he was lost and beyond frustrated and that Bradley Manning is not a piece of equipment, the report added.