SAN DIEGO -- Miss California Carrie Prejean, who recently stirred controversy by saying during the Miss USA pageant that she favored traditional marriage, said Tuesday that revealing pictures of her now making their way to the Internet are being released in a "vicious" effort to mock her for being a Christian.

TheDirty.com, a celebrity gossip blog, claims to have nude photos of La Jolla native. As of early Tuesday, it had posted just one of those images of the beauty queen. It shows her with her back to the camera, looking over her shoulder, wearing nothing but pink panties, with an arm strategically covering her breasts.

"I am a Christian, and I am a model," Prejean said in a statement released Tuesday morning.

"Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be.

"But these attacks on me and others who speak in defense of traditional marriage are intolerant and offensive. While we may not agree on every issue, we should show respect for others' opinions and not try to silence them through vicious and mean-spirited attacks."

Last Thursday, the 21-year-old Prejean announced she would star in an anti-gay marriage ad sponsored by the controversial National Organization for Marriage. Pageant officials have called Prejean a disappointing opportunist.

Prejean said Tuesday that her "comments defending traditional marriage" when she answered a question from one of the Miss USA judges on April 19 "have led to intimidation tactics that seek to undermine my reputation and somehow silence me and my beliefs..."

But, she said, "I will continue to support and defend marriage as the honorable institution it is. I will continue to stand with the overwhelming majority of the American people and the voters of my home state of California."