Bose-Einstein correlations in pairs of identical charged pions produced in a sample of 4.3 million Z 0 hadronic decays are studied as a function of the three components of the momentum difference, transverse ("out" and "side") and longitudinal with respect to the thrust direction of the event. A significant difference between the transverse, r t side , and longitudinal, r l , dimensions is observed, indicating that the emitting source of identical pions, as observed in the Longitudinally CoMoving System, has an elongated shape. This is observed with a variety of selection techniques. Specifically, the values of the parameters obtained by fitting the extended Goldhaber parametrisation to the correlation function C ′ = C DATA /C MC for two-jet events, selected with the Durham algorithm and resolution parameter y cut = 0.04, are r t side = (0.809 ± 0.009 (stat) +0.019 −0.032 (syst)) fm, r l = (0.989 ± 0.011 (stat) +0.030 −0.015 (syst)) fm and r l /r t side = 1.222 ± 0.027 (stat) +0.075 −0.012 (syst). The results are discussed in the context of a recent model of Bose-Einstein correlations based on string fragmentation.