Microsoft has said it will comply with European antitrust authorities, after the software giant was accused of not adhering to the promises it said it would keep as part of an earlier settlement.
As quoted by
Reuters, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters at an economics conference:
In my personal talks with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer he has given me assurances that they will comply immediately regardless of the conclusion of the antitrust probe.
Almunia also described the antitrust investigation as a "very, very serious issue."
Microsoft settled with EU authorities in 2009 after it was accused of unfairly using its operating system monopoly to increase its browser share by bundling Internet Explorer with Windows.
The "browser ballot" was a mandatory Windows update that allowed users to select their choice of Web browser -- such as
Firefox, Opera, or Chrome -- to be offered alongside Microsoft's own Internet Explorer as part of the settlement deal.
