It follows a decision by the Co-operative Society, which in recent years has offered its stores as collection points, to sever links with Operation Christmas Child, a project run by the Samaritan's Purse organisation.

Christmas Child sees schools, churches, youth groups and companies fill shoeboxes with goodies which are then distributed to the likes of South America, Africa and Eastern Europe.

This year 26 Manx primary and four high schools took part in the project, filling a total of 4,040 boxes.

The Co-op in the UK came under pressure from its members and Muslim groups to pull out after claims bibles and Christian literature were being placed in boxes being sent to Muslim countries.

Meanwhile, controversial comments made by the Reverend Franklin Graham, the American evangelical minister behind Samaritan's Purse, following the September 11 terrorist attacks refuse to go away. He described Islam as a 'very evil and wicked religion'.

A spokesman for the Manx Co-op confirmed the society has severed links with the charity and won't be involved in future years.

Carol Outlaw, the Island co-ordinator for Operation Christmas Child, explained the boxes have to be left open for customs and security reasons. However, she said no religious material is placed inside.

'A copy of the Christmas story written in the local language is offered separate to the boxes and only with the agreement of our partners in that country,' Carol explained.

'They don't have to take it and in more than half of the countries where we distribute the boxes it is not offered.

'For all the good the charity does, it seems a shame that there is misinformation out there and it causes such a huge negative reaction.

'We have 250,000 boxes from the UK to Eastern Europe this year, the first distribution is today (Friday) and the last one in early January.'

She added: 'All this stuff that is going on is based around Reverend Graham's comments two years ago in the aftermath (of September 11) and it is the same news being rehashed again and again.

'It's a shame that something said in the heat of the moment and which has been taken out of context is still causing ripple effects now and is in danger of ruining a really good cause.

'We issue shoeboxes to people who need them and it doesn't matter where they are, what religion they are or which country they are in.'

Stuart Loaring, primary co-ordinator at the Department of Education, said: 'It is something which we will have to monitor very carefully. We would not want to pull out because it is something practical which children can do for those children less-privileged than themselves.

'However, we would be extremely concerned if any faith materials were put in boxes as it is supposed to be across-faith.'