The European Union today accused Microsoft of tying its Media Player product to its Windows operating system.
Microsoft's Media Player is software that allows PC users to use of audio and video files without lengthy download times. The latest move from the European commission, the EU's executive arm, follows an investigation into Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system launched early last year.
"This statement of objections supplements one sent to the company a year ago and adds a new dimension to the commission's concerns that Microsoft's actions may harm innovation and restrict choice for consumers," the EU's competition watchdog said in a statement. The EC said Microsoft has two months to respond.
Microsoft denied any wrongdoing and said it was committed to working with the commission to "resolve the issues; expeditiously. "We believe our business practices are fair and legal," said John Frank, Microsoft's head of legal and corporate affairs in Europe. He also welcomed the EU's decision not to block the launch of Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows XP, set to arrive in the shops in October.
The commission said Microsoft may have also violated European antitrust laws by using illegal practices to extend its dominant position in the market for PC operating systems into the market for low-end server operating systems. Those cheaper servers are usually used by companies to network personal computers, as well as web servers.
The commission said Microsoft may have "withheld from vendors of alternative server software key inter-operability information that they need to enable their product to talk with Microsoft's dominant PC and server software products".
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