Officials from the FSB security service accused Megan McRee of using the internet to get in touch with groups including al-Qaeda, according to reports from Moscow.

She had established contacts with a series of well-known Islamic extremist organisations and offered them advice on how to stage acts of terror Security official

She had offered suggestions on how and where to carry out attacks, officials said.

Ms McRee, however, was deported for failing to register her visa.

The Russian airline Aeroflot confirmed that a passenger of that name was on board a flight from Moscow to Los Angeles, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The agency said officials from the US embassy could not be reached for comment.

An FSB official told the Reuters news agency that Ms McRee, said to be 34 years old, contacted extremists from her home in Moscow.

"Through the internet, she had established contacts with a series of well-known Islamic extremist organisations and offered them advice on how to stage acts of terror, in particular in the United States," the unnamed official said.

"She also offered to help carry [these acts] out."

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The state-run Rossiya TV channel said the woman had attempted to contact al-Qaeda and the Islamic Brotherhood, among other organisations.

The report said she had urged against attacks on large facilities because of the expense and logistical complexities and instead proposed attacks on easier facilities including "Hollywood studios and Hollywood actors".

The Rossiya report also said the woman had told authorities she had left the US several years ago because she was being persecuted by the CIA and that she had lived in Romania before coming to Russia two years ago.

No criminal case was filed against her in Russia, the TV station said.