US software maker Microsoft Wednesday successfully settled its last pending antitrust case with the European Commission, agreeing to allow Europeans to select from a menu of Web browsers that vie with its Internet Explorer.

While the settlement is being widely hailed as a turning point for the computer industry, Microsoft has also agreed to pay the European Union (EU) 1.7 billion euros in fines over the past decade.

As per the settlement, Microsoft will allow users the option to choose Internet browsers rather than offering them its own Internet Explorer browser. Five of the leading browsers, namely, the Microsoft Internet Explorer, the Mozilla Firefox, the Google Chrome, the Apple Safari and Opera, will be rotated from computer to computer, giving them equal importance in terms of users' selection.

Moreover, the software maker has also agreed to open up, for the first time, direct competition for a wide array of its software products - including the Windows operating system, Windows Server, Exchange, Office, and SharePoint.

Noting that the deal resolves a serious competition concern, the EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "It is as if you went to the supermarket and they only offered you one brand of shampoo on the shelf, and all the other choices are hidden out the back. What we are saying today is that all the brands should be on the shelf!"