If confirmed, the man would be the 10th fatality from avian influenza in Indonesia. An eight-year-old boy who died Thursday is suspected of being the country's 11th victim.

"We are doing further tests here to validate earlier tests. We need to be assured that this is a bird flu case," said Hariyadi Wibisono, director for vector-borne disease control at the health ministry.

At the same time, samples from the man were also being tested in a Hong Kong laboratory accredited by the World Health Organisation to determine if he died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, he said.

The victim, who lived in South Jakarta, died Tuesday after being admitted the previous day to the Sulianti Saroso hospital, Indonesia's main bird flu treatment center.

Most victims have come from the capital Jakarta and surrounding provinces. Millions of poultry have also died in scattered outbreaks across the archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.

Indonesia's health system, already overstretched by last year's deadly tsunami and a reemergence of polio, has been under strain preparing for a potential major outbreak of avian influenza.

The bird flu virus has killed more than 70 people in Asia since 2003.

Scientists warn that continued contact between infected birds and humans may eventually result in the virus mutating into a form that could be easily passed on by humans, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions.

Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, was accused of covering up initial outbreaks of bird flu.

It has pledged a year-long fight against the virus with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono overseeing plans being drawn up to involve millions of people monitoring for the virus at village level.

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