Australia's Hanson in court

One of Australia's former political leaders, Pauline Hanson, has pleaded not guilty at a court in Brisbane to charges of electoral fraud.

Miss Hanson burst on to the political stage six years ago when she claimed that Australia was in danger of being overwhelmed by immigrants from Asia.

The trial of Miss Hanson and David Ettridge, co-founders of the One Nation Party, is expected to last about two months.

The prosecution say they told lies to get the party registered in 1997.

Miss Hanson is also accused of misusing electoral funds to pay for the campaigns of some supporters.

Miss Hanson's plain spoken policies inflamed racist sentiment and won more than one million votes when she first stood for parliament, but her party disintegrated in an acrimonious bout of infighting and allegations of financial wrongdoing.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service