The presiding judge read out a brief statement, said her lawyer, Nyan Win, speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Yangon, formerly called Rangoon.

The judge gave no reasons the court, in proceedings closed to the public, turned down the appeal.

According to a report by the expatriate news service Irrawaddy, Nyan said he would make a final appeal to the country's chief justice as allowed under law.

Suu Kyi, 64, had her latest house arrest extended for violating the terms of a previous detention by briefly sheltering an uninvited U.S. intruder in her home in May 2009. She was sentenced in August to three years in prison with hard labor but the ruling military head of government, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, commuted the sentence to 18 months house arrest.

The continued detention of Suu Kyi, who has spent around 14 of the past 20 years in some form of detention, means that her party the National League for Democracy might not be eligible to contest the general election scheduled for this year.

Earlier this month Shwe repeated his government's intention of having elections but he hasn't set a date. The military is believed to see an election as a way of gaining international recognition and also much-needed economic assistance.

In the past year, many countries, including the United States, have moved from isolationist policies toward the Myanmar government and are seeking a greater dialogue, although many sanctions are still in place.

This policy of engagement could be having some effect as earlier this month the military released U Tin Oo, deputy leader of the National League for Democracy. Tin Oo, 82, was in prison and house arrest for nearly seven years.

Tin Oo, a decorated general and former defense minister, founded the National League for Democracy in 1988 with Suu Kyi. Upon his release he said he would return to active duty with the party and Suu Kyi was quick to welcome his announcement.

Diplomats have said that participation by her and her party in an election would be an indication that the military is serious about moving toward democracy.

But analysts said the military's strategy is to keep Suu Kyi under arrest so she, at least personally, can't take part in an election. The exclusion of her or her party would cast doubt on the validity of an election result, given that she won a landslide victory in the 1990 election, which the junta refused to recognize.

To international condemnation, the government also continues to clampdown on the media. Recently a court sentenced naturalized U.S. citizen Nyi Nyi Aung, also represented by Nyan, to three years in jail for fraud and forgery charges.

Nyi's sentence for forging an identity card, failing to declare currency at customs and violating immigration laws was handed down despite calls for his release from U.S. politicians and lawyers, human rights groups and others.

Several other journalists have also been sent to prison since last summer. At the end of January Reporters Without Borders condemned the jailing of a second video journalist within four weeks. It said the 13-year jail sentence passed on Ngwe Soe Lin shows the junta's "phobia of uncontrolled video reporting."

Less than a month before, a video reporter working for the Myanmar exile radio and TV station Democratic Voice of Burma, based in Norway, was convicted, as well as his helper, who was ordered for spend 20 years in prison for handing video material to the station.

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