I'm not a big fan of MS products, but in this disputes my vote goes straight to Redmond. The EC stand, just as the US limitations are totally groundless and stupid at that. The reasons provided are just as silly as not permitting car manufacturers to install their own brand of radio, or come to that wheels, in the car they produce. The definition of a product is purely the decision of the manufacturer, not of the state. If MS decides that their product includes a browser then it's their decision, no one else's. No one is forced to buy a MS product. I don't, for one.

The fact that it is almost impossible, in most countries, to buy a comuter without Windows pre-installed is not a valid counter-argument. At most, this should be thrown at the computer manufacturers, but I would oppose that too, and on the same grounds. It's the manufacturer's decision what to include or not include in a product they sell. If a sufficient number of consumers becomes unhappy with the forced link there will be someone to bring into the market a computer without a pre-installed Windows.