<Quote>
Accusing Microsoft of unfairly sidelining competitors, Google said on
Tuesday that it would apply to join a European Union antitrust case
against Microsoft over the company’s Web browser.
The case, initiated by the E.U. in January, accused Microsoft of
illegally tying Internet Explorer to Windows to stifle competition in
the browser market, breathing new life into issues that were at the
core of the landmark Department of Justice antitrust suit against
Microsoft a decade ago...
Google, which last year rolled out Chrome, a competing browser, said
it was also applying to become a “third party” in the European
proceeding.
“Google believes that the browser market is still largely
uncompetitive, which holds back innovation for users,” ...“This is
because Internet Explorer is tied to Microsoft’s dominant computer
operating system, giving it an unfair advantage over other
browsers.” ...
[Antitrust experts question timing...]
Microsoft’s share of the browser market had decreased to 68 percent in
January, from about 80 percent two years ago, according to Net
Applications, a research firm. Firefox had about 21.5 percent of the
market, while Safari, made by Apple, 8.3 percent, and Google’s Chrome,
1 percent....
</Quote>
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/technology/companies/25google.html
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