ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi's appeal against a tax fraud conviction and a separate trial on sex charges will be suspended after Italy's highest appeals court agreed to consider a request to transfer the hearings from Milan, a legal source said on Friday.

Berlusconi's lawyers asked last week for the trials to be moved to the northern city of Brescia from Milan, where the former prime minister says he cannot get a fair hearing because of judicial bias.

The 76-year-old media billionaire is appealing against a conviction for tax fraud and he is also on trial in a separate case over accusations of paying for sex with a minor.

The trials will remain suspended until the Corte di Cassazione decides whether or not to uphold the request for a transfer.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer)