Rome, 26 October (AKI) - Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi reportedly 'warned' the centre-left governor of the Lazio region, Piero Marrazzo, of the existence of a sex video featuring him with transsexuals and assured him it would not be made public in any of his family-controlled publications.

The video is not in the public domain, nor have officials confirmed its existence.

According to reports, Italian weekly 'Chi' was offered the alleged video of Marrazzo in an 'intimately compromising' situation with a transsexual by photo agency 'Masi', for 200,000 euros.

The video reportedly featuring Marrazzo was allegedly shot by four Italian paramilitary police or Carabinieri who raided the appartment of the transsexual. The police officers were arrested for trying to extort 80,000 euros from Marrazzo to keep the video secret.

However, the director of the weekly said on Monday that it was his decision not to publish images from the video, not Berlusconi's.

"It is absolutely not true that Silvio Berlusconi blocked the publication of the photos about the Marrazzo scandal in 'Chi' because I had already decided not to publish them," the director of the weekly, Alfonso Signorini, told Italian TV news programme Sky Tg24 Mattina.

"I was offered the photos by the agency 'Masi' for a negotiable sum of 200,000 euros, but as soon as I saw the images I didn't think we should buy them or make them public.

"I believe it is true that Berlusconi contacted Marrazzo, but it was not me that told Berlusconi about it," said Signorini, adding that he told Berlusconi's daughter, Marina who in turn allegedly told her father about the existence of the video.

Berlusconi reportedly assuredd Marrazzo that the video would not be published in any of Mondadori's publications.

The weekly 'Chi' is part of the Mondadori group, controlled by the Berlusconi family. Marina is the group's chairwoman.

Marrazzo, 51, is married with three children and was tipped as a future leader, is a former journalist and politician from the opposition Democratic Party.

On Friday, he strongly denied the claims of the existence of a video, saying it is a smear campaign against him ahead of regional elections due to take place next year.

However, he had to 'suspend' himself from his duties as president of the Lazio region after reports about another , longer video of him surfaced, involving the use of cocaine.

Meanwhile, deputy governor Esterino Montino took over Marrazzo's duties, while a decision is being taken about Marrazo's possible resignation.

Italy's centre-right coalition headed by Berlusconi has called asks for his immediate resignation and early elections.

"It's a personal case in which weaknesses that have to do with my private life have come into play," Marrazzo said on Saturday in a statement.

"The mistakes I have made have in no way interfered with my public duties."