British police served an extradition notice on Thursday on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has taken refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London and requested aslyum.

Scotland Yard said they had served a "surrender notice" on a 40-year-old man requiring him to attend a police station "at date and time of our choosing", adding that failure to do so would make him liable to arrest.

"This is standard practice in extradition cases and is the first step in the removal process," a police spokesperson said.