Sony said on Saturday it had removed off the Internet the personal details of 2,500 people that had been stolen by hackers and posted on a website.

The data included names and some addresses, which were in a database created in 2001, a Sony spokeswoman said.

Sony also said it would delay the restart of its PlayStation Network despite having said last Sunday that it would begin restoring services within the week.

A spokeswoman said on Saturday this would not be possible, and that no date had been fixed for the restart.

Sony chief executive officer Howard Stringer apologised on Friday to users of the firm's PlayStation Network and other online services, breaking his silence on the biggest Internet security break-in ever.

Stringer's comments come after he faced criticism of his leadership since Sony revealed hackers had compromised the data of more than 100 million accounts used for accessing games and music over the Internet.

 The incident may prove to be a significant setback for a company looking to recover after being outmanoeuvred by Apple  in portable music and Samsung Electronics  in flat-screen TVs and which faces a tough fight in video games with Nintendo and Microsoft.

On Friday, Sony shares ended 2.3 percent lower in a broader  market down 1.5 percent, extending its total losses to about 6 percent since it revealed the breach. The Nikkei is up around 3 percent over the same period.-Reuters