Microsoft Corp. said Monday it appealed to a South Korean court against an administrative ruling of the South Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) that it violated fair trade laws by bundling software with its Windows operating system.

Last December, the FTC ordered Microsoft to strip its MSN instant messenger and Media Player programs from some versions of Windows to be sold later this year, citing the bundling practice as damaging the interests of consumers and harming fair competition with its rivals.

The FTC also ruled Microsoft to pay 32.4 billion won (33 million U.S. dollars) by April 24 in fine.

However, in a statement posted on the Korean version of Microsoft's website, the company said the bundle does not violate South Korean antitrust law and benefits local consumers.

"The facts do not support the South Korean FTC's position," said Chung Jae-hoon, Microsoft's senior attorney for South Korea, in the statement.

"Consumers can easily download and use a wide range of software from many different companies," Chung said.

In the statement, Microsoft accused the South Korean regulator of imposing a tougher restriction than the European ruling delivered against the multinational company in 2004.

"The restrictions imposed by the South Korean FTC are more extreme than those required by the European Commission," the statement said.

"Unlike in Europe, Microsoft would no longer be able to offer in South Korea the existing version of Windows that is available everywhere else in the world," it warned.

In March 2004, the European Commission ruled Microsoft to strip its Media Player from Windows and pay fines of 497 million euros (596 million dollars). Microsoft is also appealing the European ruling.

Source: Xinhua