Gary McKinnon, the computer hacker who was the subject of a 10-year legal battle over US extradition, has reinvented himself as a search expert.

Mr McKinnon launched Small SEO, a site where he charges £40 an hour to help businesses get mentioned in search results.

On his site, he says he has more than 20 years' experience in IT services.

He had hacked US government computers but his extradition to face charges there was blocked.

The story was first reported in the Sunday Times. Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is a strategy to make sure a website or web page appears prominently in Google and other search engine results.

Home Secretary Theresa May said in October 2012 that the Briton should be permitted to stay in the UK on human rights grounds after medical reports said he was very likely to try to kill himself if extradited. Mr McKinnon, who had been fighting extradition since 2002, has Asperger's syndrome.

The following month, Mr McKinnon was told he would not face any charges in the UK and that he could start to work with computers again.

'High-quality SEO'

The Free Gary website is still up and running and the site now links to Mr McKinnon's new services. On his website, he says: "My aim is to provide high-quality SEO to small businesses and individuals. All of my clients have so far reached the first page of Google search results for their primary keywords."

Some of the clients in his portfolio include law firm Kaim Todner, tutoring service GMAT Tutor London, and Jamm, "home of the egg roller and the child-safety door stop".

Mr McKinnon was contacted by the BBC, but declined to speak because of a prior agreement with the Daily Mail. He confirmed there were no restrictions on his ability to use computers.

Mr McKinnon was arrested in 2002 and again in 2005 before an order for his extradition was made in July 2006 under the 2003 Extradition Act.

The US authorities tried to extradite Mr McKinnon to face charges of causing $800,000 (£471,000) worth of damage to military computer systems and he would have faced up to 60 years in prison if convicted. Mr McKinnon said he was looking for evidence of UFOs.

US authorities at the time described Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon's actions as the "biggest military computer hack of all time" that was "calculated to influence and affect the US government by intimidation and coercion".

An extradition warrant for Mr McKinnon is still outstanding, preventing his travel outside the UK.