Judge to call pre-Easter Fastweb hearing-sources

* Investors await decision on Fastweb, T.Italia unit Sparkle

* Fastweb seeks independent overseer, not commissioner

ROME, March 17 (Reuters) - An Italian judge plans to set a hearing before Easter to decide on an independent overseer for telecoms company Fastweb FWB.MI over a money-laundering probe, judicial sources said.

Investors have been awaiting a decision on the fate of Fastweb, Italy's No.2 telecoms company, and Telecom Italia's (TLIT.MI) Sparkle unit since last month, when prosecutors accused company executives of knowing about the laundering racket.

Fastweb, whose founder Silvio Scaglia has been jailed under the probe, has asked the court to appoint an indepedent overseer for its wholesale unit instead of having a commissioner take control of the entire company . [ID:nLDE6231RT]

Both companies deny any wrongdoing and say they are the victims of fraud.

Shares in Fastweb, controlled by Switzerland's Swisscom (SCMN.VX), have been hit over fears the so-called special administration process will limit its plans for growth.

Setting a new hearing instead of simply calling in lawyers to announce his decision would suggest the judge is willing to look into options to avoid the special administration process for the companies, legal sources said.

Arrest warrants for 56 people have been issued in the wide-ranging probe into the more than 2-billion-euro racket, which has rattled the Italian telecoms sector. (Editing by Simon Jessop)