Until now, Microsoft has claimed that the browser was an integral part of the operating system and should not be pulled out, but it now plans to do that for a European version of Windows 7, due to be rolled out later this year.

“Given the pending legal proceeding, we’ve decided that instead of including Internet Explorer in Windows 7 in Europe, we will offer it separately and on an easy-to-install basis to both computer manufacturers and users,” said Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Dave Heiner in a blog post on the company’s website on Thursday.

European regulators, which had suggested Microsoft offer a choice of browsers on its operating system to open up choice for consumers, gave a frosty response. “Microsoft has apparently decided to supply retail consumers with a version of Windows without a web browser at all,” the European Commission said in a statement reacting to Microsoft’s move. “Rather than more choice, Microsoft seems to have chosen to provide less.”

The Commission is still weighing whether Microsoft’s bundling of the browser has been abusive, and what sanctions to bring as a result. It is still possible that the Commission will force Microsoft to include other browsers with its operating system, a move the company has been determined to avoid.

Microsoft has a long history of wrangles with regulators over how it packages its own applications with its Windows operating systems, which run more than 90 percent of the world’s personal computers. In the last five years, it has been fined more than $2 billion by the European Commission for violations and failing to carry out remedies over the bundling of its Windows Media player.

Source: Reuters; excerpts, edited by TheFreeWindows

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