ROME, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - Journalists striking over pay have forced Italy's daily La Stampa from the newsstands Thursday and Friday, the Turin-based newspaper said on its Internet site.

Journalists for La Stampa, with a circulation of about 300,000, expressed 'astonishment' the newspaper was not going to guarantee their current wage levels next year.

'This is a very serious decision,' they said in a statement.