A new Bloomberg report has revealed that European Union (EU)'s competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said during a recent speech at a New York antitrust conference that antitrust regulators in Europe may initiate a probe into Microsoft's tablet software.

According to the report, Almunia said that EU will "need to look at" whether Microsoft can evade giving browser alternatives in a new version of its Windows OS - the Windows RT version, which is scheduled for release on October 26 - for tablet computers.

Earlier, it had been pointed out by Firefox-maker Mozilla in a May blog post that Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) is the only browser option that will apparently be made available in the Windows RT version of the software designed for tablets and other devices running on ARM chips.

The revelation by Almunia, about a possible investigation into Microsoft's tablet software, comes despite the fact that, back in 2009, Microsoft had worked out a five-year deal with the EU regulators for offering a choice of browsers to users running its Windows OS. The agreement had marked the settlement of an antitrust case against Microsoft, with the software giant having been accused of unfairly tying IE to Windows.

Meanwhile, in response to Almunia's hint of investigation, Microsoft's spokesman Robin Koch said in an email: "We're confident that our updates to the Windows family of products -- Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone -- will offer customers additional choice in a very competitive market."