President Bush speaks to the media regarding Iraq, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, 20 Jul 2007

President Bush has signed an executive order banning the use of torture in the CIA's detention and interrogation programs.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said in a statement Friday that the order bars cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment of detainees. He said it also prohibits the humiliation or denigration of prisoners' religious practices.

The order calls for all programs by the Central Intelligence Agency to comply with the Geneva Convention's ban on torture.

But the directive allows the president to "interpret the meaning and application" of international standards for prisoner treatment. The White House did not detail what types of interrogation procedures would be allowed.

The United States has been criticized in connection with alleged interrogation techniques that some say amount to torture. But U.S. officials say their practices are legal and do not include torture.