The European Commission said today it has expanded its investigation of Microsoft to examine whether it is illegally linking its Media Player to its Windows operating system.
"This statement of objections supplements one sent to the company a year ago and adds a new dimension to the commission's concerns that Microsoft's actions may harm innovation and restrict choice for consumers," the European Union's competition watchdog said in a statement.
Microsoft's Media Player is software that allows the use of audio and video files without lengthy download times on a personal computer.
The commission said Microsoft may also be trying to extend its dominant position in personal computer operating systems into inexpensive computer servers usually used for printing, accessing the Internet and storing files.
The EC said the software giant may have "withheld from vendors of alternative server software, key inter-operability information that they need to enable their product to talk with Microsoft's dominant PC and server software products".