EU antitrust regulators charged Microsoft on Wednesday (October 24) for breaching a 2009 order to offer a choice of web browsers to consumers on its Windows 7 operating system, the first step to a possible hefty fine.

"We have reached the preliminary conclusions that Microsoft has breached its commitments to provide Windows users with the choices screen between internet browsers," EU Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told a news conference in Brussels.

The world's No. 1 software company agreed with the European Commission three years ago to offer browser choices, in a bid to settle an antitrust investigation and avoid a penalty that could have been as much as 10 percent of its global turnover.

But the executive EU Commission, which acts as antitrust watchdog in the European Union, said in July that Microsoft had not complied with the order from February last year until then.

"Microsoft had to display a screen enabling all Windows users to easily choose their preferred web browser. This gave consumers a real choice to use the product that best suited their needs. However, when Microsoft launched Windows 7 service pack 1 in February 2011, the choices screen was no longer displayed. Microsoft has acknowledged this and this means that those users have not seen the choices screen in the period from February 2011 until July 2012," Almunia said.

The company blamed the lapse on a technical problem.

The Commission said it had sent a statement of objections or charge sheet to Microsoft detailing the infringement. Microsoft has four weeks to respond to the charges.