Google will begin offering online rentals of the film on Thursday, CNN reported. However, there were still concerns that the deal could fall through.

The move came just a day after Sony Pictures announced that the comedy, starring James Franco and Seth Rogan, will be shown in some 200 independent theaters after Christmas Day following the refusal of major chains.

US President Barack Obama has "applauded" Sony's change of mind, after initially describing the film's cancelation as "a mistake" that went against American principles of free speech.

Violent threats

The film, which portrays a satirical plot to assassinate North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, was last week pulled from its Christmas Day release after Sony Pictures was hit by a major cyberattack on its internal computer network. US authorities blamed the attack on Pyongyang.

In return, North Korea denounced the movie as a terrorist threat and said it could "prove" it had nothing to do with the Sony hacking scandal.

Following the hack, Sony received anonymous threats that cinemas showing the film would face violent attacks.

'Cyber vandalism'

North Korea suffered sweeping Internet outages in an apparent attack on Monday, following vows from US President Barack Obama of a "proportionate response" to what he called North Korea's "cyber vandalism" of Sony.

The White House and State Department declined to say whether the US government was responsible.

ksb/lw (Reuters, AP, AFP)