LONDON - It was another mega-download moment brought to you by WikiLeaks.

On Thursday, at the progressive journalists hub in London called the Frontline Club, the group of whistleblowers officially announced the release of their latest massive “data set” regarding Syria. 

The new release of some 2.5 million emails focuses entirely on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime as seen through the communications of its top ministries and companies. They date from August 2006 to March of this year, when the current crisis in Syria was building up deadly momentum. 

This release by WikiLeaks is said to be so large that it allegedly surpasses by eight times the size of the group's infamous release of U.S. State Department cables known as “Cablegate."

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“The material is embarrassing to Syria, but it is also embarrassing to Syria’s opponents,” WikiLeaks official Sarah Harrison said in a statement streamed live.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces extradition to Sweden for questioning about allegations of rape and molestation, did not appear at the club because he is currently living inside Ecuador’s Embassy seeking political asylum. He fears he risks arrest by British police if he leaves the embassy building.

The so-called Syrian Files, to be released over the next few weeks, reportedly reveal intimate correspondence between top Baath Party officials, as well as records of bank transfers within Syria and abroad, including with Western companies, although Harrison did not go into detail.

Numerous attempts to access the data online by NBC News failed because the WikiLeaks website crashed continuously. But several initial documents we could access refer to the international communications company Selex (based in Genoa, Italy) and the sale of its Tetra technology to Syria this year.  Tetra’s website describes the equipment as a “trunked radio system.” 

WikiLeaks suggested this kind of encrypted communications network could be used, for instance, by the Syrian police to better protect their surveillance of militant activities. Harrison said that Western “training” on the Tetra technology inside Syria continued well after the outbreak of civil war.

Other downloads from the Syria Files that NBC News was able to access allegedly confirm delivery of  ‘3 complete sets of connectors for 3 choppers’ to Damascus.  It was unclear if “choppers” referred to helicopters used by the Syrian regime or jargon for a communications device. These Selex emails were dated Feb. 2, 2012.

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The goal of the latest release of data is to generate a series of in-depth stories about “the inner workings of the Syrian government and economy” and how the West and Western companies “say one thing and do another,” Harrison added.

However, this release is striking in its broader, more neutral approach, without the trenchant ideology or politics associated with previous data sets.  

But on Thursday, Harrison denied reporters’ suggestions that WikiLeaks was going “mainstream.”  She said that the group was facing “a difficult time at the moment.” She was referring to WikiLeaks' growing grand jury investigation in the U.S. and the blocking of its accounts by international credit card companies – not to mention Assange’s diplomatic limbo – but said that the organization would continue to “work through that.” 

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She ended by saying she was not aware of any “rebranding” by the world’s most controversial spiller of international secrets.

Jim Maceda is an NBC News correspondent based in London. 

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Updated at 5:45 a.m. ET: Judges decide WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal  to the U.K.'s Supreme Court against lower court rulings that he should be extradited to Sweden over allegations of rape and molestation, The Associated Press reports.

Published at 4:20 a.m. ET: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to ask British judges Monday to let him continue his legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crimes allegations.

Assange will ask high court judges to let him take his case to Britain's Supreme Court. If they refuse the request, he could be extradited to Stockholm within 10 days.

The 40-year-old Australian behind the anti-secrecy website has spent almost a year on bail in Britain fighting extradition for questioning over claims of rape and molestation made by two Swedish women. Assange, who has been living in Britain since his arrest here in December last year, denies wrongdoing.

Two courts have ruled against him so far.

For his case to be considered by Britain's Supreme Court, Assange's lawyers must persuade two High Court judges that it raises a question of "general public importance."

Assange spent nine days in London's Wandsworth prison after his arrest last year. He was freed a week before Christmas on bail and has since been living at the country house of a wealthy supporter in eastern England.

His arrest came shortly after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables that included unflattering views of world leaders and candid assessments of security threats.

Assange says the allegations are politically motivated.

The application to take the case to the Supreme Court rests on two legal questions: Is the warrant for Assange's arrest valid, and can he be considered an "accused" person as required under extradition laws when no decision has been taken over whether he will be prosecuted.

If his appeal fails, Assange could still take his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, further prolonging his stay in Britain.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.