* Telecom Italia may give nod to restarting talks onThursday
* Battle for Metroweb key to Italy's digital plans
* Vodafone also eyeing stake in Metroweb
MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia mayrevive talks to take over fixed-line broadband provider Metrowebthis week after rival Vodafone made a fresh attempt tobuy a stake in the group, two sources close to the matter said.
Metroweb is a small firm which rents out fibre optic cablesbut Prime Minister Matteo Renzi considers the partly state-ownedcompany as a building block for a 12 billion euro ($13 billion)plan to roll out high-speed networks in Italy.
Buying a stake in Metroweb, which owns the biggestfibre-optic network in Italy's business capital Milan, couldultimately determine who calls the shots in themulti-billion-euro plan.
Telecom Italia board directors will meet on Thursday inVenice to review the situation after talks to buy a stake inMetroweb collapsed earlier this year due to disagreements overthe ownership structure of the deal.
"There could be an opportunity (to resume talks)," one ofthe sources said, asking not to me named because no formaldecision had yet been taken.
The battle for Metroweb comes as the Italian governmentpushes to modernise its increasingly decrepit broadband systemand speed up the roll-out of ultrafast networks to help itsailing economy.
Both Telecom Italia and Vodafone, which competes with theformer phone monopoly for the top rank in the mobile market,have set their sights on Metroweb as they seek to meet growingconsumer demand for bandwidth-consuming services.
Telecom Italia is interested in securing a 51 percent stakebut Chairman Giuseppe Recchi said in February the board hadconcluded conditions were not yet right for an agreement.
Vodafone last week signed a non-disclosure agreement overMetroweb, formally opening negotiations to buy a stake andputting pressure on Telecom Italia to reconsider its stance.
Telecom Italia declined to comment.
The British company previously said there could be risks tocompetition if other operators are not allowed to take a stakein Metroweb and have a say over its strategic decisions. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Stefano Rebaudo; Editing byDavid Holmes)
Vodafone (VOD)
