MILAN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Italy's competition watchdog

AGCM closed an investigation into Booking.com as it

found commitments offered by the online travel platform

sufficient to address the competition concerns it had raised, it

said on Thursday.

AGCM opened in March a probe into Booking.com to establish

whether the travel website was abusing its dominant market

position with its hotel price policy.

The regulator said the way Booking.com's Preferred Partner

Programme was handled "seemed likely to hinder effective

competition in the market, at least nationwide, for online hotel

brokerage and reservation services," resulting in higher prices

and less choice for consumers.

Booking.com submitted a number of commitments to ensure that

prices offered by hotels on other online channels would not be

taken into account at any stage when managing and promoting

those that are part of the programme.