Microsoft is facing fines from the European Commission after failing to get an extension on a deadline it had been set by the competition police.

The Competition Directorate had already extended, from December 15, a deadline for Microsoft to comply with the terms of a previous ruling, Reuters said.

The software firm, which had already paid $593m in fines to the EC, now faces further charges of $2.4m a day unless it complies with a previous anti-trust ruling.

The EC had told Microsoft to help other software firms understand its operating system so they could write server software as easily as it could itself. It appeared from the EC ruling that Microsoft was doing what it could to further tighten the hold it had on the market for operating systems.

But the commission found that Microsoft was still delivering up shoddy information to other server software vendors and cried foul.

Microsoft complained that it did not get a fair opportunity to make a defence. However, the commission insisted it had opportunity enough. ®