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BRUSSELS--In the wake of recent settlement deals in Microsoft antitrust cases in the United States, European Commissioner for Competition Issues Mario Monti confirmed Wednesday that the software company is due to defend itself against European antitrust charges at a hearing slated for December 20 and 21.

"The Commission will then examine all arguments," Monti said during a press conference.

Microsoft submitted its written response to the new enlarged antitrust case last Friday. Monti said his antitrust officials are examining that reply.

Monti reiterated that the European lawsuit is distinct from the case in the United States, but conceded there are similarities.

Microsoft is fighting accusations that it may have violated European antitrust rules by using illegal practices to extend its dominant position in the market for personal computer operating systems into the market for low-end server operating systems.

Low-end server systems, in the case, are defined as cheaper servers usually used as file and print servers as well as Web servers, the Commission said.

Cases Combined

This case is the result of two separate antitrust investigations into the software giant. The first case was sparked by a complaint by Sun Microsystems in 1998, which alleged that Microsoft was using its Windows OS software to muscle rivals out of the market for server software.

It focused on Microsoft's alleged discriminatory licensing and refusal to supply data to allow for the interoperability of rival server products with older versions of Microsoft's Windows OS.

In February 2000 the Commission launched a separate investigation on its own initiative to see if Microsoft was doing the same thing with the latest version of its OS at the time--Windows 2000.

As with the first case, the Commission believes that Microsoft may have withheld from vendors of alternative server software the key interoperability information they need in order to allow their products to communicate with Microsoft's dominant PC and server software products.

Microsoft will be defending itself against these charges even as it settles the bulk of the U.S. antitrust cases. Early in November, Microsoft reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and half of the states involved in the government's case. Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed that it signed an agreement for a nationwide settlement of many of the myriad private suits that allege that the company overcharged for its software.

However, Microsoft still faces antitrust charges from nine states and the District of Columbia, which decided not to settle along with the DOJ and eight states.

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. Its responsibilities include regulating competition in the E.U.

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