Earlier this week, China postponed the July 1 deadline that mandated all PCs sold in China had to come preinstalled with the Green Dam Youth Escort Web filtering software. The government's deferral of the deadline sparked speculation that the Green Dam initiative had been nixed altogether.

But an official with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has told the English language China Daily newspaper that the Green Dam software delay was only temporary and that the plan would move forward.

"The government will definitely carry on the directive on Green Dam," the unnamed official told China Daily. "It's just a matter of time."

The deadline was extended to enable computer makers to comply with Green Dam regulations, which stated that all PC makers must have the software preinstalled on all PCs sold in China. Several computer manufacturers said they wouldn't make that deadline, prompting the delay. So far, a new deadline for PC makers to include Green Dam Youth Escort in their devices has not been set.

Chinese officials have said that the Green Dam project, which has been the target of objection for many groups inside and outside China, including members of the U.S. government, security activists and privacy proponents, was enacted to shield children from pornography, violence and other "harmful" content on the Internet. The Web filtering and blocking software, however, has also been found to block other, seemingly innocuous content like images of Johnny Depp and cartoon cat Garfield. Other content, like political and homosexual references, have also reportedly been filtered or blocked.