The announcement also came as the European Commission put the Internet Explorer – Windows bundle under scrutiny for undermining competition.

 

Earlier this week though, the European Union also announced that the full monitoring on Microsoft following a 2004 decision will now only take place from time to time. That decision referred to the Windows Media Player – Windows bundle.

 

For now, it seems that Microsoft is willing to make peace with the European Union, or at least submit to some of their demanda. While it still remains unclear if this move will indeed help Microsoft’s cause, it does seem like a step in the right direction.

 

As Microsoft explained, the users will be able to select Internet Explorer from a list, and choose to remove it. This operation will not completely remove the browser from the system, but it will prevent the files from loading. However, this will also make it easier for users if they decide to restore IE, by allowing it to be added back to the operating system without requiring an installation DVD.

 

We haven’t seen any reaction from other competing browsers regarding this move, or from the European Union. Anyway, it won’t be until 2010 that the final version of Windows 7 will probably see daylight, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.