Norwegian investigators believe Breivik acted alone last Friday when he killed 76 people by bombing an Oslo government building and then going on a shooting rampage at a nearby summer camp.
Still, they have asked their counterparts in Belgium, the Czech Republic and other European countries to check whether Breivik - a right-wing loon with anti-Islamic views - was operating in cahoots with other extremist organizations.
Meanwhile, the London-based Telegraph newspaper reported that Scotland Yard was investigating whether there was any truth to Breivik's reported claim that he was one of 80 "solo martyr cells" in Western Europe bent on toppling governments that tolerate Muslim immigrants.
In his screed, Breivik cited New York-based blogger Pamela Geller, who led the charge against the Islamic Center near Ground Zero. He also quoted one of Geller's cohorts, anti-Islamic activist Robert Spencer, more than 60 times.
He was very pleased," the 32-year-old friend said. "He had had surgery on his forehead, nose and chin."
Breivik, who is also 32, began lifting weights and taking muscle builders to bulk up after being bullied in the sixth grade, the friend added.
While a photo has surfaced of Breivik dancing at a Gay Pride event in Oslo seven years ago, the gunman insisted he was straight in his manifesto.
An expert in European right-wing extremism at London's Kingston University, Andrea Mammone, says Breivik's ideas are consistent with many on the extreme right in Europe.
"These ideas of having a pure community, of having a white Europe are quite widespread across European right-wing extremism," Mammone explained. "Certainly immigration and for now Islam, which is a very easy target, they are against this. They are for an immigrant-free Europe, this is quite evident."
And it is an outlook that is gaining political ground. In Norway, the populist right-wing Progress Party is the second largest in parliament. Breivik was a member until he decided it was too moderate.
In Sweden, Democrats joined parliament last year with the slogan "Keep Sweden Swedish," and in Finland, the nationalist True Finns have one in five votes.
It is not just the Nordic countries. Geert Wilders, leader of the third largest party in the Netherlands, says he "doesn't hate Muslims. [He] hates Islam."
K. Biswas from the magazine, the New Internationalist, says a tide has turned over the past decade.
"You've seen parties in Italy, in Denmark, in Holland that have grown outside the mainstream conservative electoral vehicles in their countries, and they have had an effect," noted Biswas. "They have had an effect on immigration. They have had an effect on the language used by mainstream politicians."
Across Europe, the far right has joined in the outrage against Breivik. The leader of Norway's Progress Party, Siv Jensen, called his acts "repulsive."
The extreme right may agree with much of Breivik's outlook, but, they say, not with his tactics. Biswas says it is important to separate the two.
"What is interesting to note is that these views are no longer fringe views," Biswas noted. "These views are entering part of the mainstream. To link Islamophobia, hostile anti-elite views to violent acts I think is wrong."
Extreme politics can be a dangerous starting point, but, he says, the path does not necessarily lead to violent extremism.
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