An Italian judge has ordered Premier Silvio Berlusconi to stand trial on charges he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and then tried to cover it up.

Judge Cristina Di Censo handed down the indictment Tuesday. The trial is set to begin April 6.

Prosecutors filed a request on Wednesday to bring Berlusconi to trial, accusing him of paying for sex with a nightclub dancer known by her stage name "Ruby" when she was under 18, which is illegal in Italy.

The 74-year old billionaire premier has dismissed the accusations as "disgusting and disgraceful". He says he has done nothing illegal and that he is the target of those who wanted to carry out a political "coup by moralists".

Leaked wiretaps from the investigation have been splashed over newspapers for weeks with references to bundles of cash, talk of sex games and gifts that would-be starlets received after attending parties at the media mogul''s villa.

Photos and videos of a growing list of young women from the fringes of show business alleged to be connected to Berlusconi have been plastered over Italian television and media websites, often showing them in erotic poses or in their underwear.

The case has provoked a backlash among some women who have long complained about how they are portrayed in the media, including television owned by Berlusconi''s Mediaset empire, on which girls are commonly seen in skimpy clothes as cameras zoom
in on their breasts and legs.

The sex scandal in mainly Catholic Italy has revived opposition calls for Berlusconi to resign at a time when he is clinging to power after a split in the PDL party last year.

His former ally-turned rival Gianfranco Fini said on Sunday that the latest scandal has made Italy a laughing stock.

The prime minister has survived sex scandals in the past and some of his most staunch supporters attended pro-Berlusconi rallies earlier in the week, while branding Sunday''s demonstration a puritanical and politically motivated ploy.

Opinion polls show the sex investigation has damaged Berlusconi but has not delivered a knock-out blow. With the divided opposition presenting little threat, he could return to power if an early election were held.