By Jo Best
Monday, November 14 2005 11:09 AM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,39290124,00.htm

Microsoft has settled the latest in a long line of antitrust suits by getting out the Redmond chequebook once again.

The software giant ended the lawsuit by Korean ISP Daum with a payment of US$30m. The settlement will take the form of a US$10 million cash settlement, US$10 million in advertising deals and a further US$10 million on unspecified business terms.

In 2001, the Korean portal alleged Microsoft was breaching competition law by bundling its instant messaging program with Windows XP.

RealNetworks had also alleged antitrust violations by Microsoft in South Korea, saying the bundling of MediaPlayer with Windows shut out competition from the market. However, it dropped its complaints in a number of countries following a US$761 million settlement last month.

However, the South Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has continued to investigate the alleged breaches and is expected to pass judgment on Microsoft soon.

Microsoft threw its toys out of the pram over the FTC's persistence in investigating it and has suggested it may be forced to pull Windows software from the country. A spokesman for the FTC said at the time such behaviour would not affect the investigation.

Microsoft failed to provide comment at the time of publication.

Jo Best of Silicon.com reported from London.