Berlusconi asks to serve tax fraud sentence as community service

Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has asked to serve his 12-month sentence for tax fraud in the form of community service, his lawyers said on Friday.

The supreme court on August 1 turned down Berlusconi's second and final appeal in the tax fraud case, handing him his first ever definitive conviction in a long history of legal woes.

Because of his age, the 77-year-old will not have to go to prison and had a choice of asking for either house arrest or community service, which would afford him greater freedom of movement.

If Berlusconi's request is accepted, a court in Rome, where Berlusconi has officially declared residence, will decide what form the service will take, a legal source close to Berlusconi told AFP.

The flamboyant tycoon could find himself working in an old people's home, stacking shelves in a supermarket or cleaning up graffiti, although this is seen as unlikely.

Berlusconi, who has always sworn his innocence in the case, had initially rejected doing community service "like a common criminal".

But experts say it is the option that would give him the most freedom since under the rules of house arrest in Italy, a criminal has to make a specific request for every movement outside.

Procedural delays mean that the billionaire magnate's punishment is not likely to be meted out before next year.