The authorities today admitted censoring nude paintings and sculptures in the International Herald Tribune but denied responsibility for the newspaper appearing with a large blank space instead of two letters on Muslim reaction to the Asian tsunami disaster.

A picture of a female nude by the 19th Century artist J M W Turner which appeared on Page 13 of Tuesday's edition - to illustrate an article headlined ' Ruskin and the censorship myth ' - had large black oblongs added in strategic places.

Nude plaster figures pictured in a Page 10 article on an exhibition in Florence were also subjected to the black oblong treatment.

'Production problem'

Malaysia, a mainly Muslim nation, would censor "any form of nudity" as well as topics "sensitive to the country, in political or religious matters," an official from the Home Ministry's censorship department told AFP .

But the official said the blank space in the letters column was the result of a "production problem" faced by the IHT .

"It had nothing to do with censorship," the official said.

The IHT, owned by the New York Times and printed in several cities around the world, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The Hong Kong edition of the paper carried letters from Saudi Arabian and Pakistani officials rejecting suggestions that Islamic countries had been less than generous in providing aid for the tsunami victims.