Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is not in a coma, his senior advisor Nabil Abu Rudeina said here on Thursday.

"He (Arafat) did not lose consciousness, he is not unconscious and not in a coma either," said Abu Rudeina, who accompanied the ailing Palestinian leader to the Percy military hospital at Clamart, southwest of Paris.

"He was indeed admitted to an intensive care unit as his condition is not improving despite positive preliminary tests,"the senior advisor added.

Earlier reports said Arafat was rushed to an intensive care unit Wednesday and had lost consciousness for three times over the past 24 hours.

The reports quoted Palestinian officials as saying his transfer to intensive care "does not mean his life is in danger" and "he is tired but his condition is stable."

Arafat, widely seen as a symbol of the Palestinian struggle for statehood, was airlifted to Paris Friday for treatment from his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he had been confined by Israel for nearly three years.

Senior Palestinian officials in Paris has ruled out the possibility that the 75-year-old leader had leukemia or cancer or was poisoned, but the cause of his ailment has not been identified yet.