The European Commission plans to seek feedback from the software industry and consumers on a new offer from Microsoft to address charges that it is competing unfairly in the market for web browsers, the regulator said Wednesday.

European competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said Microsoft's latest settlement offer in its long-running antitrust case in Europe "is an answer" to the charges it faces.

The move is a sign of detente in Microsoft's antitrust battle with Europe's top regulator.

“We welcome today’s announcement by the European Commission to move forward with formal market testing of Microsoft’s proposal relating to web browser choice in Europe," its top counsel in the affair, Brad Smith, said in a written statement. "We also welcome the opportunity to take the next step in the process regarding our proposal to promote interoperability with a broad range of our products."

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