Microsoft in Korean probe
SOUTH Korean regulators have widened a probe into Microsoft's local subsidiary over allegations the US software giant violated trade rules by tying its Media Player program to its Windows operating system.
The investigation by South Korea's Fair Trade Commission comes after the European Union fined Microsoft E497 million ($847 million) this year in an antitrust case.
Microsoft RealNetworks filed a complaint with the commission alleging that Microsoft was undermining competition by tying its Media Player and Media Server software to Windows.
"We plan to conduct a detailed investigation," the commission said.
Kwon Chan, a spokesman at Microsoft Korea, said the company would study RealNetworks' complaint in detail, and would co-operate with the South Korean probe. The commission already was investigating Microsoft because of a complaint from Daum Communications, a South Korean internet portal, that Microsoft violated trade rules by tying its instant messenger software to Windows.
