BRUSSELS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are set
to charge Microsoft on Wednesday for breaching a 2009
ruling ordering it to offer a choice of web browsers to
consumers, the first step to a possible hefty fine, a source
familiar with the matter said.
The world's No. 1 software company agreed with the European
Commission three years ago to offer browser choices, in a bid to
settle an antitrust investigation and avoid a penalty that could
have been as much as 10 percent of its global turnover.
But the EU Commission, which acts as antitrust watchdog in
the European Union, said in July this year that Microsoft had
not complied with the order from February last year until then.
The company blamed the lapse on a technical problem.
EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia will hold a news
conference around 1000 GMT to announce his decision.
