UPDATE 4-Judge asks if US govt would shut UBS in tax fight

* U.S. judge orders U.S. govt to say how far it would go

* Switzerland says would stop UBS handing over client data

* Berne says may seize UBS client data, if necessary

* Judge may be pushing for a settlement (Adds comment on judge's order, background, paragraphs 7-10)

By Lisa Jucca and Tom Brown

ZURICH/MIAMI, July 8 (Reuters) - A judge ordered the U.S. government to say whether it was prepared to shut Swiss bank UBS AG (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) (UBS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in the United States as part of a battle to learn the identity of 52,000 secret accounts suspected of being used by Americans to avoid taxes.

U.S. District Judge Alan Gold, set to preside over a hearing Monday of a suit seeking to force UBS to provide the information, asked specifically Wednesday about "receivership and/or seizure of UBS' assets within the United States."

Gold said such remedies might be requested of the court if UBS failed to comply, or was prevented from complying by the Swiss government. He gave the U.S. Justice Department until noon (1600 GMT) on Sunday to respond.

Switzerland has vowed to prevent UBS from handing over client information to U.S authorities, in an attempt to defend bank secrecy, and says the tax case targeting its biggest bank is souring diplomatic ties.