The European Commission has extended a deadline for Microsoft to reply to charges that the company stymied rivals by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with Windows systems.

The Commission, which monitors competition in the 27-nation European Union, sent a so-called statement of objections to Microsoft on January 15, saying the company had infringed EU rules by abusing its dominant position. It had given the company eight weeks to reply.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Dale Hudson)

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