The wife of a jailed Chinese cyber-dissident has travelled to the US to sue Yahoo! for its role in facilitating his prosecution.

Wang Xianoning was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in 2003 for posting what Beijing claimed were subversive materials on the net. His wife, Yu Ling, flew into the US this week with the aim of suing Yahoo! for damages and forcing the net giant to apologise for the actions of its Hong Kong division, which passed on email account information that revealed her husband's identity, the Voice of America reports.

Ling gave an interview with US government radio outlet Voice of America which will be broadcast to China via its Mandarin service.

Human rights organisations, such as Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, have repeatedly criticised Yahoo! for handing over information that has led to the prosecution and imprisonment of several Chinese cyber-dissidents. It reckons Wang is one of 50 people imprisoned in China for voicing their opinions on controversial issues online.