Microsoft will be fined over browser commitment: EU

BRUSSELS (AFP) - United States (US) software giant Microsoft faces yet more heavy fines after it promised to offer clients a choice of web browser but has failed to do so, the EU's competition commissioner said on Monday.

Microsoft apologised in July for a "technical error" as the EU launched a probe into why 28 million users of the Windows 7 operating system were unable to choose between the company's default Internet Explorer and other browsers.

It has not made the change so far and inevitably faces more fines - to follow some of the heaviest EU penalties ever - if it does not act soon, Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told AFP in an interview.

Microsoft committed in 2009 to provide Windows users in Europe a "choice screen" enabling them to pick an alternative web browser until 2014. The screen, however, has been missing from an update to Windows 7 since February 2011 and the Commission has run out of patience after launching a formal probe in July.