(Adds comments from journalist's son)

By Terry Friel

KABUL, March 15 (Reuters) - An Italian journalist abducted in Afghanistan 10 days ago has appealed to authorities to meet his kidnappers' demands, warning he would otherwise be executed in two days, an Afghan news agency said on Thursday.

"After that they will kill us," a voice said to be that of Daniele Mastrogiacomo said in English in a compact disc recording obtained by Reuters from the Pajhwok agency. "There are only two days. Please. Please."

Pajhwok would not say how it obtained it the barely audible recording. It was unclear when it was made.

The journalist's 24-year-old son, Michele, told Reuters: "It's very likely that it's him but I can't be absolutely sure."

Mastrogiacomo was seized in the lawless southern province of Helmand along with two Afghan colleagues, and the Taliban said he confessed to spying for British troops.

His newspaper, La Repubblica, denied the reporter was a spy and said the Karachi-born man had been writing for them since 1980 and reporting from Afghanistan since Feb. 28.

At the start of the disc, a man Pajhwok says is a senior Taliban commander orders a subordinate in the Pashto language to force the journalist to make the recording.

Pajhwok is a privately owned, largely Web-based news agency with a large network of reporters across the country. Its reports are generally reliable.

In Italy, Mastrogiacomo's brother Alessandro said he was unsure about the recording. "The audio is very bad," he said. "It could be him. I'm not absolutely sure. But ... I think I recognise the inflections in his voice."

An Italian Foreign Ministry official also urged caution.

This week, a Pakistan-based news agency said the Taliban had threatened to kill the Italian and his two Afghan companions by Friday. The group had earlier said they would release Mastrogiacomo if he proved his innocence.

A Taliban spokesman later said they changed their mind after Italy's lower house of parliament voted a week ago to keep 1,900 troops in Afghanistan. The Taliban want Italian troops withdrawn and the release of one of their spokesmen captured in January.

The Italian government has demanded the kidnappers prove Mastrogiacomo is alive before any talks.

Another Italian journalist, Gabriele Torsello, was kidnapped in Helmand in October and held for three weeks before being released unharmed.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who has also sent troops to Afghanistan, said on a visit to Kabul kept secret until his arrival that he was considering increasing their number.

"We are looking at the possibility of some increase in our commitment to Afghanistan," he told reporters after meeting President Hamid Karzai and NATO commanders.

Howard said any increase in Afghanistan might be in the form of trainers. Australia has more than 400 troops in Afghanistan, mainly working on reconstruction and development in Uruzgan province.

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