BRIEF-Italy: any gov't Telecom move wld respect markets

ROME Feb 3 (Reuters) - Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said at a business conference in Rome on Wednesday:

*The Italian government will listen to Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) regarding talk of a merger with Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC)

*Any action taken by the Italian government will respect the rules of the free market

For merger scenarios, click on [ID:nLDE6111R2]

For a related factbox, click on [ID:LDE60R1IM]

For a timeline on Italian-Spanish deals, click on [ID:nLDE60O0PS]

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; writing by Stephen Brown)