'Users would have chosen Netscape' says Microsoft VP

A Microsoft executive admitted in court yesterday that if the company hadn't forced Internet service providers (ISPs) to promote Internet Explorer, users would have chosen Netscape's Navigator browser instead.

Microsoft vice president, Cameron Myhrvold told the courtroom that the software giant's stringent contracts were intended to counteract Netscape's lead in the browser market.

When a US government lawyer asked him directly if he believed users would have chosen Navigator over Internet Explorer if both were put side by side, Myhrvold answered, "Yes, that's right."

The admission seems to clash with Microsoft's main defense, that Internet Explorer has done well in the market because it is a superior product.

In the witness box today is another Microsoft vice president, Brad Chase. He will be cross-examined about his testimony that Netscape freely chose the relatively ineffective method of marketing its browser over the Internet, while Microsoft's marketing machine gained contractual cooperation from ISPs.