Four countries have appealed against a decision to fast-track the global standardisation of a Microsoft document format, called OpenXML.
Brazil, India, South Africa and Venezuela have complained that there was not enough time given to discuss improvements to the format.
The format is used for spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents.
Critics claim it is not fully compatible with other document formats.
The ratification of OpenXML would be an important seal of approval for Microsoft, which has long been taken to task for its failure to embrace open standards.
Government bodies would be more likely to adopt the standard if it had an "open" rubber stamp as many are concerned that storing documents in a proprietary format could cause problems for future archiving.
The Office OpenXML format was initially approved by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in April but will now remain on hold while the appeals are investigated.
This could take several months.
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