Around the Net

EU Compels Microsoft To Share The Wealth

  • Reuters, Monday, March 22, 2010 5:01 PM
From Britain to Italy, Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser continues to lose market share in major European markets, according to Web statistics firm Statcounter.

From February to March, Internet Explorer's share of all Web surfing dropped by 2.5% in France; 1% in Britain; and 1.3% in Italy. According to Reuters, the broad decline is a direct result of Microsoft's own efforts to make it easier for European consumers to use competing browsers.

The efforts, mind you, came at the behest of the European Union following a drawn-out antitrust dispute. As such, the software giant recently started sending a choice screen -- where consumers can easily click on rival browsers -- to almost 200 million old and new computers. Meanwhile, Norway's Opera Software, the fourth largest browser firm, has seen downloads more than double in Europe from normal levels, with downloads in Italy, Spain and Poland more than tripling.

Read the whole story at Reuters »

Next story loading loading..