Foreign security software vendors 'not totally banned'

The United States-based security software maker Symantec Corp and Russia's Kaspersky Lab said on Tuesday that their products are not completely banned by the Chinese government.

The comments followed reports that both companies were excluded from a list of anti-virus software vendors whose products are approved for sale to central government agencies.

The People's Daily reported on Sunday that the government's procurement agency "has excluded Symantec and Kaspersky" from a list of security software suppliers.