Security is to be stepped up at the Vatican and at other sites of major important sites in Italy in the wake of strengthened concerns that Italy could become a target for terrorists, Italian News Agency ANSA said on Friday.

In a note to all police stations, the Department of Public Safety has asked forces to intensify patrols and checks and to increase visibility at the Vatican as well as in churches, sanctuaries and pilgrim destinations in the run up to Christmas,.

Surveillance should also be intensified at embassies, government buildings, airports and stations as well as crowded shopping centers, according to the note.

Police are also asked to intensify the observation and surveillance of people considered suspicious and dangerous as well as to improve information-gathering via the "constant monitoring" of Internet websites, chats and forums visited by extremists.

Italy's chief of police, Antonio Manganelli, stressed Friday that there was no reason for alarm but that it was necessary for the country to keep up its guard against possible attacks.

On Wednesday Foreign Minister Franco Frattini warned that Italy can no longer be considered only a "logistical base" for terrorists after two Moroccans were arrested Tuesday on charges of planning attacks on targets in Milan and towns in the Lombardy region.

Arrests of suspected terrorists in Italy in the past have largely been connected with the recruitment of suicide bombers to be sent to Afghanistan and Iraq.