EU fines Microsoft £484m for not offering web browser choice

EU antitrust regulators fined Microsoft €561m (£484m) today for breaking a promise to offer European consumers a choice of web browser.

Microsoft had made the pledge in 2009 in settling an antitrust investigation in Europe, where the software group's regulatory troubles date from the last decade and have cost it a total of €2.16bn, including the latest fine.

Microsoft promised to offer European consumers a choice of rival browsers in the previous version of its Windows operating system.

But the European Commission, which acts as competition regulator across the 27-member European Union, said it found the company broke that undertaking between May 2011 and July 2012.