(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission said Friday it had launched a detailed antitrust probe of Finnish telecommunication equipment giant Nokia's takeover of US digital navigation group Navteq.

Europe's top antitrust watchdog said it would rule by August 8 whether to block the the proposed takeover worth 8.1 billion dollars (5.1 billion euros) or let it go ahead.

"The Commission's initial market investigation has indicated that the proposed merger raises serious doubts with regards to vertical competition concerns," it said in a statement after a first review of the deal.

Nokia announced plans in October to buy Navteq, which provides comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices and Internet-based mapping applications.

The Chicago-based group offers digital maps for 69 countries on six continents that can be read by most navigation systems available in North America and Europe.

EU regulators are already in the midst of a detailed probe of Dutch technology group TomTom's takeover of Dutch firm Tele Atlas on concerns that deal deal could also stifle competition in the market for hand-held navigation devices.

Text and Picture Copyright 2008 AFP. All other Copyright 2008 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.