Seoul, Apr 12: Daum Communications Corp., a South Korean internet company, said it sued Microsoft corp., claiming the ``instant messenger'' programe included in Microsoft's windows xp operating system stifles competition. Daum filed the lawsuit against Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft and its Korean unit to a Seoul court, seeking 10 billion won (8.8 million us dollar) in damages, Daum spokeswoman Park Hyun Jung said.
Seoul-based daum has been providing its own instant messaging services since 2000.
The lawsuit comes less than a month after European union regulators fined Microsoft a record 497 million euros (600 million US dollar) for using ‘Windows’, which powers 95 per cent of personal computers, to quash competition from rival makers of server software and media players such as Realnetworks Inc. Bloomberg .
Bureau Report