Microsoft Makes Concession Over Browser

Microsoft Corp. said it will allow Internet service providers with which it has promotional deals to offer Web browsers from other software makers, in its latest move to defuse antitrust pressures. The Redmond, Wash.-based maker of PC software is modifying its contracts with firms that provide Internet access to enable them to offer browsers other than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, said Brad Smith, Microsoft’s associate general counsel. In the past, the contracts forbade the advertising and promotion of any browser competing with Explorer. The move is an attempt to assuage critics of Microsoft’s marketing tactics in the browser market, where it is fighting an antitrust suit by the Department of Justice. The firm has also been investigated by the European Commission over the contracts. Microsoft shares slipped 75 cents to $84.75 on Nasdaq.