A shadow of a man is reflected on a shop window of a closed shop with a "for rent" sign on it in central Athens September 19, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

ATHENS - Greece denied a report on Tuesday that it was considering holding a referendum on the country's membership in the euro zone.

Kathimerini daily wrote on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, that Prime Minister George Papandreou was considering calling for a referendum on whether Greece should continue to tackle its debt crisis within the euro zone or by exiting the single currency.

The government has long said it was planning a referendum on political reforms but has repeatedly denied that it would concern the country's euro membership.

Asked if the referendum would be about staying in the euro zone, deputy government spokesman Angelos Tolkas said: "No. We haven't discussed such an issue, definitely not."

He said the government had put to parliament on Monday a bill aimed at allowing the country to hold referenda but without specifying any issue.

"Yesterday we tabled a bill about referenda ... but we have not discussed anything more than holding a referendum."