NEW YORK (Reuters) - AOL Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:AOL - News) said on Wednesday the U.S. Department of Justice has started an inquiry into accounting practices at its America Online division and that it will cooperate fully.

The company issued a statement confirming a report in the USA Today newspaper on Wednesday that the Justice Department had opened an investigation into the accounting practices at the struggling online unit. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also opened a fact-finding inquiry into AOL after a report in the Washington Post newspaper raised concerns about accounting practices at the online unit.

"In the current environment, when anyone raises a question about accounting, it's not surprising that the relevant government agencies will want to look into the facts," the company said. "As we said last week, we are cooperating 100 percent with the SEC, and we will cooperate with the Department of Justice as well.

"The company reiterated that its accounting was appropriate, and that its outside auditors have repeatedly confirmed that".