The European Union's executive on Tuesday welcomed Microsoft's move to offer European customers the choice of which web browser they install on their computers, in the wake of a massive legal fight between the two sides.
The EU has long been at odds with Microsoft because of fears that the company's decision to sell its Windows operating system with the Microsoft Internet Explorer already installed made life unfairly hard for independent companies producing their own web browsers, dpa reported.
In December, Microsoft promised to defuse the row by offering Windows users a choice of browsers. It put that promise into effect on Monday.
The EU's executive, the European Commission, "welcomes the implementation by Microsoft of its commitment to give consumers in the EU the opportunity to choose from a variety of browsers," the Brussels-based body said in a statement.
"This should ensure competition on the (products') merits and allow consumers to benefit from technical developments and innovation both on the web browser market and on related markets," the statement said.
Commission officials estimate that more than 100 million computer users in the EU will now be given the choice to use non-Microsoft browsers over the next 10 weeks alone.
In recent years the commission has fined Microsoft close to 1 billion dollars in a series of anti-trust decisions.