WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People in Argentina, Mexico, Egypt and China are more likely than those in the United States to say it is very important for the news media to be free from government control, a survey published on Thursday found.

The survey of 20 countries by World Public Opinion.org at the University of Maryland, found strong support worldwide for a free press and opposition to government restrictions on access to the Internet.

But in the United States, where residents believed the news media already had significant freedoms, many people did not support further protections for the press, the survey showed.

More than one out of four U.S. residents said the government should have the right to prevent the media from publishing things it thinks could be politically destabilizing. More than one in five thought the press should have fewer freedoms.

Fifty-six percent of U.S. residents said it was very important for the media to be free to publish without government control, compared to 70 percent of Argentines, 79 percent of Mexicans, 64 percent of Egyptians and 58 percent of Chinese.

In Britain, with media traditions similar to the United States, 28 percent of those surveyed said the government should have the right to prevent publication of things it thinks will be politically destabilizing.

But only 15 percent of Britons thought the press should have fewer freedoms and 65 percent said it was very important for the media to be able to publish without government controls.

Although the survey saw broad support for press freedoms worldwide, it also found people in six Muslim-majority countries and Russia strongly believe the government should have the right to restrict publication of material viewed as politically destabilizing.

Sixty-six percent of Jordanians favored such controls, as did 59 percent in the Palestinian territories, 56 percent of Indonesians and 45 percent of Iranians. Views were sharply divided on the issue in Turkey, Egypt and Russia, with large minorities favoring restrictions.

Despite favoring limits on publishing potentially destabilizing material, however, majorities in many of the countries also favored more media freedoms in general.