Microsoft yesterday announced that it is to share more information about its products and technology with competitors, but its move drew only a lukewarm response from the European Commission.

The company will publish technical information on its website for its most widely used products, allowing developers to create software compatible with products such as Vista and Office. It said that it would not make developers pay a royalty or licence fee.

However, European Union regulators were sceptical, claiming that the software maker did not touch on possible monopoly abuse in the past. They also said that Microsoft had failed to address allegations – which form part of an ongoing investigation – that it seeks to undercut rivals by illegally giving away its Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system.

“The Commission would welcome any move toward genuine interoperability,” regulators said. “Nonetheless, the Commission notes that the announcement follows at least four similar statements by Microsoft in the past on the importance of interoperability.”

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, denied that the company was simply trying to appease regulators, although he did admit that the strategy “reflects the reality of our unique legal situation”. In September, Microsoft lost an appeal against a fine of nearly $500 million (£257 million) that the Commission handed down in 2004 when it was found to have abused its dominant market position.

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