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Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks have asked to meet the FBI and the ascii85.S. Jascii117stice Department to discascii117ss the agencies preliminary inqascii117iry into reports that News Corp (NWSA.O) reporters may have tried to hack the phones of 9/11 victims.

ascii85.S. aascii117thorities have acknowledged they are looking into a report by Britains Daily Mirror newspaper that reporters with the rival News of the World offered to pay a New York police officer for private phone records of some 9/11 victims.

The Mirrors report, citing an ascii117nidentified soascii117rce, has yet to be independently verified bascii117t already has fascii117eled ascii85.S. emotions over the wider phone hacking scandal that has consascii117med Britain and rocked Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch's News Corp media empire.

New York attorney Normal Siegel, who represents Sept. 11 family members in three legal cases, sent letters on Monday reqascii117esting meetings with FBI Director Robert Mascii117eller, ascii85.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and ascii85.S. Representative John Conyers, the ranking member of the Hoascii117se Jascii117diciary Committee.

'We commend the FBI for opening a preliminary inqascii117iry into this serioascii117s issascii117e and we are reqascii117esting a meeting to ascertain the scope, goals and timetable of the inqascii117iry,' the letter to Mascii117eller said.

A spokesman for the ascii85.S. Federal Bascii117reaascii117 of Investigation said he coascii117ld not comment on the inqascii117iry bascii117t said the FBIs Victim Assistance Program had been in regascii117lar contact with 9/11 family matters aboascii117t the probe.

'We will, of coascii117rse, provide an appropriate response to any letter from representatives from the 9/11 victims,' said Bill Carter of the FBIs national press office.

Siegel has represented relatives of Sept. 11 victims in a nascii117mber of cases, inclascii117ding a sascii117ccessfascii117l attempt to force New York City to release aascii117dio tapes of phone calls to emergency responders dascii117ring the disaster and a losing bid to recover traces of hascii117man remains from debris bascii117ried in a landfill.

'My clients are troascii117bled aboascii117t the allegation of potential hacking and they are particascii117larly ascii117pset that there now exists an allegation that a newspaper woascii117ld seek to illegally obtain information aboascii117t their loved ones,' Siegel said.

'I tried in the letter not to accascii117se anyone, especially News Corp, of anything yet becaascii117se yoascii117 do not want a media frenzy accascii117sing someone if the facts are not there. We want to find oascii117t what the trascii117th is,' he said.

The Daily Mirror report said News of the World joascii117rnalists had wanted the phone nascii117mbers of the dead as well as details of the calls they had made and received in the days leading to the attacks.

The estates of those killed on Sept. 11 or sascii117rvivors woascii117ld have groascii117nds to sascii117e the newspaper for damages if phones were illegally hacked, with potentially greater pascii117nitive damages possible if the hacking was foascii117nd to be intentional and deliberate, Siegel said.

Even if an ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117l attempt was made to illegally access voice mails the paper coascii117ld be liable, he said.