• Financial Times, Monday, January 19, 2009 11 AM

A decision by European regulators to reopen their antitrust charges against Microsoft could help to tip the balance in the rivalry between Microsoft and Google for leadership for the next generation of online services, write Richard Waters and Nikki Tait. The complaint -- not yet made public but confirmed by both sides -- takes issue with Microsoft's inclusion of its Internet Explorer browser in Windows.

Although is has nearly 60% market share in Europe, the fact is that Microsoft's Explorer browser is no longer as dominant as it was, with the open-source Firefox gaining in particular. Plus, Google entered the market last year with its Chrome browser, Apple's Safari is surging thanks to the rising popularity of the Mac, and other rivals such as Opera have a following. Still, rivals complain that Microsoft has an unfair advantage.

The Europeans have proposed a "must-carry" provision that would require Windows to include rival browsers, not just Internet Explorer. In effect, this would turn Windows into a partial utility, making it a distribution vehicle for other company's software.

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