BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece has lodged a formal request for a bailout loan with the euro zone's special support fund, a spokesman for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) said on Wednesday.

"The ESM has received the Greek request,” he said.

The Eurogroup of finance ministers is due to consider the application, which is formally addressed to its chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem, in a conference call on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Tom Koerkemeier; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)