State news agency MENA said the embattled leader held talks with members of his newly-appointed cabinet but gave no further details.
In Sinai, a gas pipeline supplying Israel was attacked, although it was not immediately clear who was responsible, or whether the attack was linked to the protests against Mubarak`s rule.
The aging leader has shown no intention of stepping down immediately, despite huge demonstrations on the Muslim day of prayer Friday on Cairo`s Tahrir Square -- the epicenter of the protests -- and in Alexandria.
Early on Saturday, gunfire crackled on the square where thousands spent a chilly night encircled by tanks.
Protesters sat on the ground around some of the tanks to prevent the troops pulling out and leaving the square vulnerable to the feared interior ministry riot police or militants loyal to Mubarak`s ruling National Democratic Party.
US President Barack Obama meanwhile hinted that the veteran leader should step down saying the "patriot" should "listen to what is being voiced by the Egyptian people."
Obama said he understood "some discussions" had begun on a political transition, with details to be worked out by Egyptians themselves, and said violence against demonstrators was unacceptable.
Ferocious clashes between Mubarak loyalists and the protesters on Wednesday and Thursday left at least eight people dead and more than 800 hurt.
According to UN estimates, more than 300 people have been killed since the protests began.
"We continue to be crystal clear that we oppose violence as a response to this crisis," Obama said, as Egyptian authorities called for protesters thronging central Cairo to go home but said they would not force them out.
European leaders were more forthright.
At a summit in Brussels, the 27 EU governments said Egypt`s "transition process must start now" and condemned this week`s violence, while issuing a veiled threat to suspend aid.
Mubarak has said he would like to quit but fears that chaos would ensue.
Saboteurs attacked the gas pipline to Israel in the Sheikh Zuwayed area of the Sinai peninsula near the Gaza Strip.
The army has taken precautionary measures to stop the fire from spreading, an official said.
Arab League chief Amr Mussa, Mubarak`s one-time foreign minister and a possible future presidential candidate, said on Friday he doubted his former boss would leave any time soon.
Mubarak has said he will not stand in elections scheduled for September, but protesters have insisted he must step down now.
"I do not think he will leave. I think he will stay until the end of August," Mussa told France`s Europe 1 radio.(*)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
