EU to market test Microsoft's browser choice proposal

The EU's competition watchdog said Wednesday that it will market test a Microsoft proposal to allow consumers pick their own Web browser.

In a statement, the EU's competition committee laid out the following:

The improvements that Microsoft has made to its proposal since July would ensure that consumers could make a free and fully informed choice of web browser. Microsoft has in particular agreed to present users with a first screen explaining what web browsers are. "Tell me more" buttons for each browser would also enable users to learn more about the web browser they may wish to install. The user experience would be better and the choice screen would better represent competing browser vendors. Finally, the proposed commitment would now be subject to a clause allowing the Commission to review it in the future to ensure that consumers would continue to have a genuine choice among browsers.

Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft makes changes to browser ballot screen; user testing to commence

Microsoft proposed that it would make this choice screen available for five years.

The EU invited comments from third parties, but we should write this moment down---Europe's antitrust regulators and Microsoft actually have a brief detente working.

Here's a look at Microsoft's browser ballot box:

More:

• Microsoft agrees to give choice of browsers to Windows 7 users in Europe
• Microsoft decides not to push Windows 7E on Europe, after all