Microsoft has agreed to allow users to choose their favourite web browser, after European Union anti-trust regulators fined the company for €1.68 billion (£1.49 billion, $2.44 billion) in a decade-long fight, the BBC reported.

Internet Explorer is everywhere. Photo credit: Jeff Wilcox

The software giant currently offers Internet Explorer as the default browser for most PCs; in January, however, the European Union charged Microsoft with monopoly abuse for binding its web browser to the operating system, Sky News reported.

Now, a pop-up screen will provide internet users with a choice of 12 different web-browsers, including Mozilla’s Firefox, Apple’s Safari, Google’s Chrome, and Norway’s Opera.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that millions of European consumers will benefit from this decision over the next five years, as Microsoft makes good on its commitments.

If Microsoft breaks the agreement, the European Commission will be able to fine the company up to 10 per cent of its annual turnover, The Financial Times reported.

The terms of the agreement include Microsoft’s obligation to report to the commission every six months on the process of the browser choice to allow possible adjustments, The Wall Street Journal said. Microsoft also promised to share technical information with rivals to let their products work better with a range of software, including Windows, the Exchange email system and the Office suite.

It was Opera that put forward the latest complaint in 2007; the company’s chief executive, Jon von Tetzchner, welcomed the agreement as a move that will significantly boost  innovation. He told BBC: “This is a victory for the future of the web. This decision is also a celebration of open web standards, as these shared guidelines are the necessary ingredients for innovation.”