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Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has lost his long battle to avoid extradition from New Zealand to the United States.

A spokesperson for New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said he had signed an extradition order for Mr Dotcom on Thursday.

US authorities have said he made his fortune from digital piracy on the now-defunct file-sharing website Megaupload, which he founded in 2005.

Mr Dotcom has said he had no control over what users uploaded to the site.

The entrepreneur, who was born in Germany and lives in New Zealand, has described himself as an "internet freedom fighter".

His legal campaign against removal began after he was arrested in a dramatic FBI raid on his Auckland mansion in 2012.

He has since launched several unsuccessful appeals against extradition in the New Zealand courts.

Mr Dotcom faces several criminal charges in the US - including for copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering - and could face a lengthy jail term if convicted.

U.S. authorities say Mr Dotcom and three other Megaupload executives cost film studios and music producers more than $500m in losses.

At its peak, Megaupload was the 13th most popular website on the internet, accounting for 4% of all online traffic worldwide.

Mr Dotcom made millions of dollars from selling advertising and premium subscriptions.

Users often shared pirated films and music on the site, but Mr Dotcom has denied he encouraged this.

In a post on social media on Tuesday, he said, "The obedient US colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload," in apparent reference to the extradition order.