Air Force Lieutenant General Michael V Hayden, head of the National Security Agency, said that his agency does not spy on Americans (it is legally prohibited from doing so), and that reports that the NSA routinely eavesdropped on the private conversations of Americans were mere speculation. Many reports from Europe have indicated that the NSA is part of a network known as the Echelon Project, which includes Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Hayden also denied that the NSA spies on foreign companies and passes trade secrets to US companies.--Stephen V Cole