The European Commission accused Microsoft of violating competition law by including its Internet Explorer web browser in Windows operating systems since 1996, the software company said today.
The executive arm of the European Union had dispatched a "statement of objections" to Microsoft, in which it formed a preliminary view that the firm had prevented rival browsers from competing, the US software firm disclosed.
Remedies put in place by US courts in 2002 after antitrust proceedings also did not make Windows Explorer bundling lawful, Microsoft cited the commission as saying.
Microsoft said in a statement it was studying the commission's views and had the option of responding formally within about two months. It did not rule out requesting a formal hearing.
Microsoft and the EU have engaged in a running battle over competition issues for years, and the US firm has been fined more than €1 billion in all for allegedly abusing its 95 per cent dominance of personal computer systems through its ubiquitous Windows software.
The company controls an estimated three-quarters of the web browsing market through Explorer but has lost ground in recent times to the Mozilla Firefox browser.
Reuters