Microsoft has confirmed earlier hints that it will offer European Windows users a choice of browser as a way of settling its legal feud with the European Union.

The proposal to European Commission would see European users able to download a plug-in which will open a ballot screen with up to 10 competing browsers with a market share of over 0.5 per cent. The chosen browser would then be the default for the machine.

The proposal also gives a commitment not to take any punitive action against original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that ship products with rival browsers preinstalled, and guarantees not to cut off any OEM without a 30-day consultation period.

"While the Commission solicits public comment and considers this proposal, we are committed to ensuring that we are in full compliance with European law and our obligations under the 2007 Court of First Instance ruling," said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, in a statement.

"We believe that, if ultimately accepted, this proposal will fully address the European competition law issues relating to the inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows and interoperability with our high-volume products."

"This would mark a big step forward in addressing a decade of legal issues, and would be good news for European consumers and our partners in the industry. "

Commitments made in the proposal would be good for five years after any agreement has been reached.

"The proposal recognises the principle that consumers should be given a free and effective choice of web browser, and sets out a means - the ballot screen - by which Microsoft believes that can be achieved," said the Commission in a statement.

"The Commission welcomes this proposal, and will now investigate its practical effectiveness in terms of ensuring genuine consumer choice."

Microsoft said that it will take three to six months to develop the plug-in if the EU accepts its proposal. In the meantime, the company will continue to ship 'Windows E' which has no browser.

This would mean that, even if the EU agreed tomorrow, it would be almost impossible to have the system in place in time for the launch of Windows 7 on 22 October.

Mitchell Baker, chairman of the Mozilla Foundation, maintained that Microsoft's proposal leaves serious questions unanswered, most notably whether the ballot screen would be open to all European Windows users and whether it applied to OEM machines.

Microsoft's statement says that its proposal will allow people to "easily install competing browsers from the web".

"It is not clear yet whether the user can set another browser as the default browser - that is, the browser that opens up when one selects a URL," Baker wrote in a blog post.

"If the ballot screen doesn't allow one to make something other than IE the default, then the so-called 'remedy' looks pretty flimsy."