As a part of the European Commission's (EC) probe into Microsoft's supposedly anti-competitive bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows, the commission has decided to open up a month- long "browser ballot," proposed by Microsoft in July, to gauge browser preference of European Internet users.

The browser proposal, scheduled to kick off October 9, will have existing and future Windows users - including consumers, OEMs, developers, and 'other interested parties' - to select a default browser for their PCs, and forward their comments.

Referring to the agreement with Microsoft on the browser ballot, the EC said that the proposal by Microsoft will enable European consumers to decide the way in which they wish to access and use the Internet.

The EC reiterated that competition is its chief concern, and the ballot would test Microsoft's proposal towards that end. In case the proposal is deemed successful, the European Union will accept it, thereby implying that Microsoft would have to present this browser ballot for at least five years.

Commenting on the EC decision, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said: "We welcome today's announcement by the European Commission to move forward with formal market testing of Microsoft's proposal relating to web browser choice in Europe. We also welcome the opportunity to take the next step in the process regarding our proposal to promote interoperability with a broad range of our products."