Berlusconi says emergency G8 meet an option

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said convening an emergency Group of Eight (G8) meeting to deal with the financial crisis was an option that could not be excluded.

"I spoke to (U.S. President George W.) Bush about it and there aren't any reasons to exclude it," Berlusconi told reporters when asked if the idea was feasible, according to a spokesman who confirmed the comments reported on Italian news agencies.

France made a proposal to Japan and other G8 countries to hold an emergency summit to deal with the crisis, government officials and media have said.