(Reuters) - China will open the murder trial of Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Communist Party Politburo member Bo Xilai, on August 9, two sources said on Friday, a case at the center of a scandal that has rocked the government and could bring Gu the death penalty.

Both sources requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the case, and provided no other details.

China only last week formally announced Gu's indictment on charges of murdering a British man in November.

Gu will face trial in Hefei, provincial capital of Anhui in eastern China, though she is accused of murdering businessman Neil Heywood in Chongqing, a southwest municipality that her husband Bo turned into a showpiece for his controversial policies.

British diplomats have requested access to the trial. CNN reported that two family members would be allowed to attend and that the trial was expected to be speedy.

Bo, who was dismissed as chief of Chongqing in March, has not been named as a suspect in the murder case, but he is separately under investigation by party authorities and could also face trial at a later time.

Political observers have said a failure to forge a unified stance on handling the divisive Bo case could affect the Communist Party's focus on working out leadership changes that will be decided at the 18th national congress later this year.

Bo, 62, was widely seen as pushing for a spot in that new leadership until felled by the scandal brought to light by his former police chief, Wang Lijun.

Bo, also a former commerce minister, had used his post in Chongqing since 2007 to recast the sprawling, haze-covered municipality into a showcase for his mix of populist policies and bold investment and spending plans.