BEIJING, June 30 (RIA Novosti) - China has delayed the enforcement of a new law that would see all new computers sold with Web-filtering software, Xinhua said on Tuesday.

The law was due to come into force on Wednesday.

The delay is due to the fact that "software installation requires more time," the agency said, citing a statement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It gave neither further details, nor details on when the project would resume.

The Chinese government says the software, named Green Dam Youth Escort, is aimed at protecting children from pornography and violent images. However, critics say the program could be used to block politically sensitive content, and to spy on users. Chinese authorities have defended the program, saying it is intended to ensure the "healthy development" of the Internet, while controlling information that is "harmful to society."

The developers of the program claimed they received death threats from both inside China and abroad.