PARIS (AP) - The OECD has extended the deadline for tax havens to meet guidelines aimed at curbing harmful tax competition, pushing it to the end of February, the organisation said.

It was the second time the deadline has been extended.

Originally set for July 31 this year, it was unofficially extended until the end of November, owing in part to differences between London and Madrid over the tax status of Gibraltar,.

The initiative by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development targets havens that offer excessively low tax rates and encourage noncompliance with the tax laws of other countries.

The organisation's 30 members maintain that harmful tax practices distort financial and, ultimately, real investment flows. Jurisdictions that fail to conform and that persist in illegitimate practices will be blacklisted, and subject to "defensive measures" from OECD member countries.

The decision to extend the deadline is one of several changes made to the OECD's tax haven work.