Microsoft heads for Christmas showdown

Microsoft will have to wait until mid to late December before being able to sort out its latest anti-trust dispute with the European Commission, according to reports this morning.

As we reported yesterday, the EC is understood to be taking a tough line against the software giant in a case that centres on whether by tying Media Player into the Windows operating system Microsoft excluded rival companies.

The EC is also looking at whether Microsoft deliberately used its dominance in the PC market to gain advantage in the server software market.

In a leaked report - carried in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, the EC attacked the Redmond-based firm for obstructing its investigation.

Among the allegations made in the report - believed to have been presented to Microsoft in August - is the accusation that 34 letters purporting to show support from customers for the firm's business practices were in fact written by Microsoft itself.

Now further reports indicate that the EC has scheduled a formal hearing for 20 and 21 December to which Microsoft and rival software providers will be invited to make their cases. It is thought the hearings come at the instigation of Microsoft which is keen to avoid heavy fines.

Penalties as high as 10 per cent of Microsoft's annual revenue, around $2.5bn, were mentioned in the leaked report.