The European Commission has set June 3-5 for the oral hearing of Microsoft's defense arguments with regard to the 27-country European Union's (EU) antitrust charges pertaining to the bundling of Internet Explorer (IE) with its leading Windows operating system. Microsoft has already submitted a written response to the charges - a so-called "statement of objections" - on April 28.

The Commission, which regulates competition within the EU, has asserted that Microsoft's Windows-specific IE not merely shields the browser but also wards off competition from products of rival companies, thereby adversely affecting innovation and diminishing choice-range for customers.

The Commission can undertake some steps against Microsoft - like imposing a fine; forcing it to allow users to choose alternate browsers; or even requiring it to disable IE.

The hearing will give Microsoft the opportunity to clarify its stand against the EU antitrust charges of "tying" of IE to Windows to "distort competition" in the browser market, thereby giving IE "an artificial distribution advantage which other Web browsers are unable to match."

The round of accusations against Microsoft's IE-Windows "bundling" strategy stemmed from Opera Software's December 2007 complaint. The company - whose Opera browser presently has less than 1 percent of the market share - had said that IE "harmed the Web," and had urged Microsoft to adhere to Web standards.

(Via TopNews. Contributed by Jimmy Peterson)