By Benjamin Kang Lim and Karolos Grohmann

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao said his country would stand by pledges made when it was awarded the Olympics as Games officials deflected fire over Internet censorship on Friday by lifting restrictions.

Hu told a select group of reporters that the Games, just one week away, would have an enduring benefit for his country and leave a positive "spiritual legacy".

"The Chinese government and the Chinese people have been working in real earnest to honor the commitments made to the international community," the normally media-shy Hu, who doubles as Communist Party chief, said.

Hu's comments came as both China and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were under fire from critics who say neither has lived up to pledges the country made to improve its rights record and lift Internet censorship for the Olympics.

IOC press chief Kevan Gosper said earlier this week that some IOC officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites to the media, despite repeated promises of a free Internet, but on Friday officials backtracked, saying once again there would be unrestricted access.

"The issue has been solved," IOC vice-president Gunilla Lindberg told Reuters.

"The IOC Coordination Commission and BOCOG met last night and agreed," she said, referring to Beijing's Olympic organizers. "Internet use will be just like in any Olympics."

The issue of Internet censorship was only the latest of a series of issues, from human rights, to reporting restrictions, to China's policies in Darfur and Tibet, that have prompted criticism of its Communist leadership.

Although Internet access will be free for reporters for the period of the Games, it is still tightly controlled for the rest of the country.

'EQUAL FOOTING'

But Hu made a plea not to politicize a Games that many had hoped would lead the country of 1.3 billion on a path toward greater political reform to match years of breakneck growth that has made it the world's fourth-largest economy.

"I don't think that politicizing the Olympic Games will do anything good to addressing any of the issues," Hu said.

"It is only inevitable for people from different countries and regions may not see eye to eye with one another on some different issues," he said.

"And I think in this context, we should enter into consultations on an equal footing to narrow our differences and expand our common ground on the basis of mutual respect."

But critics said China itself was to blame for any politicization of the Games.

"The IOC and the Chinese government I think are the ones to be held accountable here ... I think the blame related for anything related to the politicization of the Olympics really falls on their shoulders," said Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for Free Tibet.

And she said the storm over Internet censorship had shattered confidence in the IOC.

"The IOC is not true to its word, has never been true to its word, and the leadership of Jacques Rogge has seriously and forever damaged the Olympic movement and all that it means to the world," she told a teleconference on Friday.

Hu said that as early as 1908 some Chinese were saying their country should host the Olympics, adding that when the Games open on August 8 it would be the fulfillment of a 100-year dream.

He also defended the cost of the massive endeavor -- expected to be well over $2 billion -- which has seen the city scramble to build a new airport terminal, several subways lines and state-of the-art facilities.

"The investment is worth it," he said.

(Writing by Lindsay Beck, additional reporting by Beijing bureau and John Ruwitch in Hong Kong; Editing by Nick Macfie/Jon Bramley)

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