Ananova:

The judge in the Microsoft antitrust case has ordered both sides the chance to participate in intensive negotiations to settle their four-year legal battle.

District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said there is no reason why the case cannot be settled.

She gave the Justice Department and Microsoft until November 2 to reach a deal and asked both sides to negotiate "24 hours a day, seven days a week".

The judge, who inherited the case after an appeals court threw out an earlier judgment breaking Microsoft in two, made clear several times she thought the case should be settled.

She told a scheduling conference: "I believe this case should be settled. If everyone is reasonable and acts in good faith, there is no reason this case can't be settled."

If settlement talks fail, the judge set a schedule for new court proceedings to determine what penalty Microsoft should face for violating antitrust laws.

The government has made clear it no longer intends to seek a break-up of Microsoft, opting for lesser penalties that include restrictions on the company's business practices.

The two sides have been participating in some settlement discussions but little progress has been reported.

In the past week, several consumer groups and six state attorneys general not associated with the case lent their support to prosecutors. They said Windows XP, Microsoft's forthcoming operating system upgrade, would hurt consumers.

Microsoft has long argued that it is only adding new features that consumers want, saying attacks are fuelled by the company's rivals.

Story filed: 17:21 Friday 28th September 2001

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