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A spokeswoman for competition commissioner Neelie Kroes confirmed that the EU's executive had sent letters to the studios in an attempt to establish whether they have restrictive agreements that they will only use Blu-ray discs for high definition movie releases.

"We want more information about whether the studios have arrangements with the Blu-ray format, and if so what

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those arrangements are," the spokeswoman said

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Commission is particularly interested in the activities of the Blu-ray group because of its dominance in Hollywood.

"The commission is investigating whether improper tactics were used to suppress competition and persuade the studios to back their format," the report says.

It adds that HD DVD's backers, which include Microsoft, have been urging the Commission to take a look at Blu-ray's tactics.

The Sony-backed Blu-ray format is exclusively supported by five major studios. Universal Pictures is alone in preferring Toshiba's rival HD DVD discs, while Paramount and Warner Bros have released movies in both formats.

Both the Blu-ray Disc Association and the HD DVD Promotional Group declined to comment.