The European Commission is preparing a rigorous examination of the €176bn (£106bn) Vodafone AirTouch-Mannesmann merger, reports the Financial Times.

Such a probe is likely to consider the combined company's power in the entire EU market. This would mean widening the review beyond national mobile phone and internet markets to include the enlarged company's footprint in the EU market - even where there are not many overlaps in the combined entity's business.