MCI chairman and chief executive Michael Capellas said the company had met with the US Attorneys Office yesterday to 'gain an understanding of the nature of their inquiry' following allegations that MCI inappropriately handled access fees.

'We committed to them our full cooperation in their efforts. We also are conducting our own internal analysis and are working vigorously to gather data so that we can provide the most complete set of facts,' Capellas said.

'As I have said all along, we will do the right thing. We have a zero-tolerance policy and if any wrongdoing is discovered you can be certain that we will take appropriate action swiftly.'

This pledge from Capellas comes after phone company AT&T objected to plans by WorldCom to emerge from bankruptcy protection and charges from other telecom rivals that it inappropriately handled access fees.

AT&T is accusing MCI of dumping calls on to its network to avoid charges.

In a filing with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, AT&T alleges that WorldCom diverted US domestic calls which incurred higher access fees through Canada and on to its network, thereby shifting the costs on to AT&T and violating longstanding agreements.