A US judge said yesterday she will likely defer to an agreement on desktop search forged between Microsoft and the plaintiffs in the US government's antitrust lawsuit against the software vendor, instead of responding to a complaint from rival Google.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, of the US District Court for the District of Columbia , said she relies on the plaintiffs, including the US Department of Justice and several states, to suggest solutions for complaints related to a 2002 antitrust settlement governing Microsoft.

"The plaintiffs, as far as I'm concerned, stand in the shoes of the consumer," Kollar-Kotelly said during a status hearing on Microsoft's compliance with the settlement. "Google is not a party in this case."

This month, Google filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft, saying it was difficult for computer users to change the default desktop search program in Windows Vista. Google protested the proposed desktop search agreement between Microsoft and the antitrust plaintiffs, saying it didn't go far enough. Google on Monday filed a motion asking Kollar-Kotelly to extend her oversight of changes to desktop search.

Source: computerworld.co.nz