Fresh concerns by EU envelop Windows Vista

Windows Vista- The upcoming OS by world's largest software maker, Microsoft is facing fresh concerns amid delays as it faced new antitrust pressure from the European Commission on Wednesday, a day before it fights to stave off fines handed down in a previous case by EU competition regulators.

Microsoft Corp.'s new Vista operating system is still months away from hitting the market, but the European Union already has concerns the software could break antitrust rules. In a twist in the row, European Union competition chief Neelie Kroes has written to Microsoft to warn the US software giant to respect anti-trust law with its new Vista operating system, her spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Microsoft has long been entangled in an anti-trust standoff with the European Union's competition watchdog which decided in 2004 that the U.S. company had abused the dominance of its Windows operating system and fined it nearly half a billion euros. But so far the dispute has not focused on products in development. Kroes' letter to Ballmer came after Microsoft asked regulators to set out any possible antitrust problems with Vista, stressing that it was not the start of any formal probe into the new operating system. The Commission is concerned Vista may package Internet search functions or software to create fixed document formats, such as the "pdf" format, posing a threat to companies such as Google or Adobe that provide similar products. "We are concerned about the possibility that the next Vista operating system will include various elements which are currently available separately from Microsoft or other companies," Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said.

"We assume that Microsoft has its own interests at heart. It wants to launch another product without having to worry about the (European) Commission instituting various actions under antitrust law," he said. "The commission's concern is that computer manufacturers or consumers might be prevented from having a proper choice between different software packages." Microsoft denies antitrust behaviour on its part. In a statement, Microsoft said its product development respected all laws and competition standards. "We have worked hard to include partners and competitors in our planning, so they can build products and services that work with Windows Vista," it said in statement.
No formal investigation has been opened yet, but commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said, "If our concerns are confirmed and we conclude that Vista violated European competition rules, then we would open a new case." "We expect that Microsoft will design Vista in a way which is in line with the European competition laws," Kroes said in the interview. "It would be rather stupid to design something that is not," she said.

Meanwhile, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), which campaigns for free software, welcomed the Commission's letter as a sign it was maintaining pressure on the company as it enters new markets such as search, security or telephony and messaging. The warning about Vista comes a day before Microsoft’s top lawyers gather with regulators and rivals at a Brussels hearing about the company’s compliance with the 2004 ruling. If Microsoft fails to change the commission’s mind, it faces daily fines of up to €2 million until it is deemed to be in compliance with the 2004 ruling.