China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced the delay earlier today, according to the state Xinhua news agency. The ministry said it was delaying the mandated installation of the Green Dam Youth Escort software because "some computer producers said such massive installation demanded extra time," according to the statement.

The Xinhua report quoted a ministry spokesman as saying it would "keep on soliciting opinions to perfect the preinstallation plan," but offered no additional details on a new timetable for requiring the software. It also said that it would provide a free download of the filtering software and equip school and Internet bar computers with the application.

China's sudden backtracking on the issue is the latest twist in what's been a growing controversy over the Green Dam software. Earlier this month China said that all PCs sold in that country must be equipped with the Web filtering application starting July 1.

While China said the mandate was designed to protect young people from violent and pornographic content, critics both inside China and outside the country said the government could use the software to censor politically sensitive material. Critics also said the software leaves PCs vulnerable to attack by hackers.

China was under pressure to drop the Green Dam requirement from U.S. government officials, including U.S. Trade representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke who, in a letter to the MIIT last week, said the Green Dam software requirement might violate China's commitments under World Trade Organization rules.

U.S. PC manufacturers, particularly Dell and Hewlett-Packard, which have significant sales in China, have raised objections to the plan. Yesterday Sony reportedly began shipping the Green Dam software with its PCs in China, but it included a document with a disclaimer for any damage the software might cause. Taiwanese PC maker Acer had also said it would comply with the mandate.