On Thursday, Intel received another set of antitrust charges from the European Commission; this time, Intel’s approach to the computer retail market seems to have bothered the Commission’s members.

It was said that the new charges support the Commission’s precedential view that Intel has indeed tried to exclude rival company AMD "from the x86 central processing units market."  

No Intel official was available for commenting on this.

Last year in July, the European Commission brought forward charges that Intel had tried to sabotage the market of AMD. At the core of the accusations were allegations that Intel paid several computer manufacturers to delay or even cancel the launch of a series of products packing AMD technology. Intel had also put out various incentives for manufacturers to use its chips rather than those made by AMD. These deals were part of a "single, overall anticompetitive strategy," the European Commission alleged.

Such cases can have very serious consequences. Last year for instance, judges at the European Court of First Instance, the EU's second highest tribunal, have upheld the European Commission's 2004 record fine of no less than 497 million euros (690 million dollars) against Microsoft, which was handed down for abusing its market position. However, a small provision of the 2004 ruling was rejected.

It remains to be seen whether or not Intel will get a similar ruling to that reveived by Microsoft. Stay tuned as further information on this case will soon find its way to you.