The government and opposition groups in Egypt have agreed to set up a committee to study constitutional reform after days of protests demanding President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, the BBC reported.

The move followed talks between new Vice-President Omar Suleiman and key opposition members, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, the report said, citing state TV officials.

It was the first time the government and the Brotherhood have held talks. Opposition groups have not yet confirmed the reports.

The opposition is demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule. Many of its members, including the Brotherhood, had said they would not meet any government representatives before he stepped down. He has refused to do so.

Suleiman last week urged the Brotherhood to join dialogue, calling it 'valuable opportunity' for the group. It was his publically announced meeting with Brotherhood members since his appointment as vice president.

Meanwhile, the government tried to get the nation back to work on Sunday and people queued in Cairo when banks opened for the first time in a week

Demonstrators camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which has become an epicentre for protest, vowed to intensify their battle to oust Mubarak but the 82-year-old president has said he will stay until September elections because the alternative is chaos.

With some Egyptians keen for a return to normal after unrest that the United Nations says killed 300 people, the government has warned of the damage to political stability and the economy.

'We want people to go back to work and to get paid, and life to get back to normal,' army commander Hassan Al-Roweny said.

The commander of the army, which many say holds the key to the nation's future, was touring Tahrir Square to try to convince protesters, complaining about poverty, repression and corruption, to leave the usually busy intersection.

The United States, Egypt's ally which provides the army with $1.3 billion annually, has advocated the need for gradual change and political talks between the government and opposition groups on an orderly handover of power.-Reuters