NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Long distance telephone company Qwest blasted MCI's continued insistence on a merger with Verizon Friday, saying MCI's board should stop playing favorites and is failing in its duty to shareholders.

"In a dubious example of corporate governance, the board of MCI has ceded to Verizon its obligation to maximize value for MCI shareholders," Qwest said in a statement.

Qwest said MCI's Board's claims that Verizon would be a better match have unfairly skewed the bidding process in favor of Verizon.

"They now no longer have the right to negotiate and conclude a value creative transaction on behalf of their owners," said Qwest. "We

believe that any attempt to deny shareholders the value we are offering is a dereliction of fiduciary duty."

Earlier Friday, MCI, which has already agreed twice to merge with Baby Bell Verizon, said Friday that it will once again meet to discuss a rival bid from Qwest.

Verizon, which initially agreed to pay $6.75 billion for MCI in February, upped its bid to $7.6 billion earlier this week. Qwest, which had originally offered $8 billion for MCI and then raised its bid to $8.5, submitted a third offer of $8.9 billion Thursday.

Verizon said Friday it had agreed to give MCI time to talk with Qwest but stressed that it felt its offer was still a better one.

"Verizon has a signed agreement with MCI that we believe will deliver superior value to MCI's shareholders. At MCI's request, we have agreed that it may have discussions with Qwest about any offer Qwest presents until the MCI shareholder vote," the company said in a statement.

Qwest said Thursday it will withdraw its offer if it is not accepted by April 5.

The bidding war for MCI is the latest example of consolidation in the rapidly changing telecom world. SBC agreed to buy AT&T earlier this year and wireless giants Sprint and Nextel agreed to merge last November.

Shares of MCI (Research) and Verizon (Research) rose slightly in early trading Friday while shares of Qwest (Research) fell modestly.

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