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They will meet at the White House with the five Republican and five Democratic members of the commission. Their appearance had been planned but a specific date had not been announced.

"The president looks forward to meeting with the commission and answering any questions," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

The two will not testify under oath.

The commission has been hearing testimony, both in public and private, from various top administration officials to determine whether the Sept. 11 hijacked airliner attacks could have been avoided.

It is unusual for such investigations to hear from two officials at one time, which could eliminate the possibility of contradictory testimony and allow the two to defer to each other in the questioning. But the panel chairman, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, a Republican, said the commission accepted the unusual arrangement to hear from the president, noting that sitting presidents rarely appear before investigative panels or congressional committees.

Bush, who initially opposed creation of the independent commission, had earlier insisted he meet with just the chairman and vice chairman and for only one hour. Under pressure from the panel, however, he agreed to meet all 10 members and answer questions for as long as necessary.

The commission's pressure also forced the White House to allow Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, to give public, sworn testimony to the panel two weeks ago, after former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke accused Bush of having failed to consider terrorism an urgent priority when he took office.

Bush was given an Aug. 6, 2001, intelligence document that said the FBI had detected "patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York."

He said in reaction to the public release of the memo earlier this month that it was not a warning the Sept. 11 attacks were about to take place, and it did not point to a specific target. The attacks on New York and Washington killed nearly 3,000 people and prompted the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

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