NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under virtual house arrest

She has been kept under de facto house arrest since her efforts to visit party workers in the north of the country were blocked by the authorities.

Telephone lines to her home have been cut and diplomatic access to her has been refused.

It is also thought the releases might be in response to quiet pressure from colleagues in the Association of South-East Asian Nations.

Its members are thought to have become increasingly exasperated by the Burmese Government's continued hardline against the opposition and the impact it was having on Asean's international standing.

The move also follows the publication of a UN report earlier this week detailing widespread human rights abuses in Burma, including state-sponsored murder, rape and torture in the authorities efforts to stamp out opposition.

On Wednesday a government statement dismissed the reports accusations saying that they were biased and based on information from insurgents.