Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it will adopt all of the main changes demanded by European Union antitrust regulators for its stripped-down version of Windows sold without the Media Player program.
U.S. software maker’s top lawyer in Europe, Horacio Gutierrez, said the company had contacted the European Commission “to inform them that we have accepted all the main changes they have requested.”
Changes to the Windows program will include deleting references to Media Player from product documentation, boxes and help files. Alterations also include creating a software package that allows consumers to put back the programs and settings that were removed from the Media Player-less version, which EU regulators demanded Microsoft to offer consumers.
Microsoft also agreed to restore settings that it had previously removed but which competitors such as RealNetworks Inc. had asked to be restored.
Tuesday’s announcement came after Microsoft said Monday it agreed with the EU on a name for its Media Player-less version of Windows, which will be sold in Europe.
Microsoft officials said they had accepted the European Union’s offer to call the European version of Windows sold without Media Player “Windows XP Home Edition N” — with “N” standing for “not with media player.”
Microsoft’s “XP Professional Edition” will also include the “N” for versions sold without Media Player, which allows users to see video or hear audio downloads.
Gutierrez said Monday the company had “some misgivings” about the new name, but decided to cooperate to ensure quick implementation of the EU antitrust ruling levied against Microsoft last year.
The EU fined Microsoft a record 497 million euros ($665 million) after ruling that the company abusively wielded its Windows software monopoly to lock competitors out of the market.
The EU ordered Microsoft to offer consumers a version of Windows without Media Player that is compatible with competitors’ software, such as RealNetworks’ RealPlayer, to allow consumers to decide which they wanted to use.
EU spokeswoman Antonia Mochan said the Commission had not finalized its market research analysis on the name change, nor did she have any reaction to Microsoft’s announcement Tuesday.
The EU has said it could impose additional prohibitive fines of up to 5 percent of the company’s daily global sales if Microsoft refuses to cooperate with last year’s ruling.
The company has launched an appeal to last year’s antitrust ruling with the EU’s European Court of First Instance.
