The Federal District Court in Washington decided that Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, will be supervised for antitrust activities for two more years. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly prolonged the current supervision through Nov. 12, 2009.

Eleven states, including New York and California, had asked the court to extend oversight until 2012, but pressure from the Department of Justice has shortened the extension to only two years. Several key requirements for Microsoft to license communications protocols and prohibition of "retaliation" against third-party software and hardware vendors have been successfully extended.

"Although the technical documentation project is complex and novel, it is clear that Microsoft is culpable for this inexcusable delay," Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said, adding that "practically speaking, Microsoft has never complied" with the section which required the Redmond company to license communications protocols.

Microsoft has argued that it was in full compliance.

The European Commission opened two weeks ago antitrust investigations regarding Microsoft’s activities. The European Commission represents the European Union’s antitrust watchdog and it has powers to fine companies up to 10 percent of their global annual revenues for their competition abuses.

The institution’s most recent investigation of Microsoft’s business practices was prompted by the popular software maker’s rivals’ complaints in the European Committee for Interoperable Systems. The ECIS includes companies such as Sun Microsystems, Red hat, IBM, Adobe, Oracle and several others.

The European Commission said two weeks ago that it was trying to discover whether Microsoft was violating monopoly laws by failing to make its products interoperable with rivals’ offerings and by illegally bundling its popular Internet Web browser (Internet Explorer) with Windows operating system.

"The initiation of proceedings does not imply that the Commission has proof of an infringement. It only signifies that the Commission will further investigate the case as a matter of priority," the European Commission said in a statement at the time.