The move came after the bank's president, Paul Wolfowitz, had blocked more than US$1 billion for projects in Africa and Asia because of allegations of corruption. That decision was criticized by many countries - both donors and recipients - that say it penalized poor people for the abuses of their governments.

"Given the importance of the issue, we stressed the importance of Board oversight of the strategy as it is further developed and then implemented," the World Bank's Development Committee said in a statement after a daylong meeting.

While Wolfowitz insisted that fighting corruption was critical to promoting growth and overcoming poverty, he also said the bank's approach must be "innovative and flexible," taking into account the conditions in various countries.

"We cannot abandon the poor because their governments or institutions are weak," he said. "That would mean they would be penalized twice."

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