UPDATE 1-EU extends Alitalia loan info deadline to May 30

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BRUSSELS, May 13 (Reuters) - The European Commission has agreed to give Italy's new conservative government more time to provide information about an emergency loan to ailing airline Alitalia (AZPIa.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) that Brussels suspects may be illegal.

A spokesman for the EU executive said on Tuesday it had extended a deadline for Rome to reply to its concerns about the 300 million euro ($463.7 million) bridge loan at the request of the new administration of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

"I can confirm that following a request from the Italian authorities, the Commission decided that the deadline for presenting additional information will be May 30," spokesman Michele Cercone told a news briefing.

Alitalia said last week it had already received the loan awarded by the previous centre-left government to keep the flag carrier flying until a new buyer is found.

The Commission voiced doubt about the legality of the loan on April 24 and said it needed more information to determine whether the money was granted on commercial terms that a private investor would set or whether it constituted illegal state aid.

Brussels, which has the power to force Italy to recover the money, originally demanded a reply within 10 working days.

"A doubt is a doubt and it remains such until it is solved," Cercone said. (Reporting by Paul Taylor, editing by Dale Hudson)