WASHINGTON, US - A TENNESSEE university student has been indicted for hacking into a personal email account of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the running mate of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

David Kernell, 20, turned himself in to the authorities in Tennessee after he was indicted by a federal grand jury and was to be arraigned before a magistrate, the Justice Department said in a statement.

It said Kernell was charged in a single-count indictment with gaining 'unauthorised access to Gov. Palin's personal e-mail account by allegedly resetting the account password' around September 16.

'Kernell allegedly read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the email directory, email content and other personal information.

'According to the indictment, Kernell posted screenshots of the emails and other personal information to a public website,' the Justice Department added.

Kernell's father is Mike Kernell, a Democratic state representative from Memphis, Tennessee. The elder Kernell has said he was unaware of the actions of his son, a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

The McCain campaign denounced the attack on Mrs Palin's private email as a 'shocking invasion of the governor's privacy'.

If convicted, Kernell faces up to five years in prison, a US$250,000 (S$366,955) fine and a three-year term of supervised release.

Authorities did not immediately set a trial date. -- AFP