London, Mar 7 : Microsoft has been hit with a 485 million pounds European Commission fine.

The fine was imposed on the software giant after a botched update to the Windows operating system meant it broke a legally-binding commitment to offer consumers a choice of web browser.

The company indicated that it would not challenge the penalty, announced by Joaquín Almunia, the Competition Commissioner, the Telegraph reports.

A Microsoft spokesman said that they take full responsibility for the technical error that caused this problem and have apologized for it.

He added that they provided the Commission with a complete and candid assessment of the situation, and they have taken steps to strengthen their software development and other processes to help avoid this mistake – or anything similar – in the future.”

Microsoft was originally accused by Brussels of abusing its dominance to stifle competitors to its Internet Explorer web browser, the report said.

As a remedy, in 2009 it agreed to offer Windows buyers a choice of alternatives such as Google’s Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari when they first booted up their new operating system.

According to the report, it changed the Windows code to meet the commitment, but when Microsoft released Windows 7 Service Pack 1 in February 2011, a major update that fixed various bugs in the software, it failed to offer a choice of browser.

Microsoft expected a heavy fine and last year cut bonuses for the head of its Windows division and chief executive, Steve Ballmer, it added. (ANI)