Microsoft’s long-running antitrust battle with the European Union appears to be edging closer to new battlefronts, as the software giant hints that EU concerns over specific features in Windows Vista may result in the operating system release in Europe being delayed. Currently, Vista is scheduled to be released to European markets in early 2007.

Microsoft has been embroiled in antitrust litigation with the European Commission for years; the latest round saw the company hit with a $357 million penalty for failing to adequately share technical information with companies seeking to interoperate with Microsoft’s systems. To date, the European Commission has not launched a formal inquiry into Windows Vista, and competition commissioner Neelie Kroes has said it is misleading for Microsoft to imply the European Commission is somehow delaying the release of Windows Vista. A Commission spokesman clarified to the BBC: It is not up to the Commission to give Microoft a definitive ‘green light’ before Vista is put on the market.”

In March 2006, European regulators warned Microsoft specific features in Windows Vista may run afoul of EU antitrust regulations, including Internet searching, tools which enable creation of PDF documents, digital rights management software, and potentially some of the security and anti-piracy technologies included in the forthcoming operating system. The Commission apparently sent details of possible antitrust issues to Microsoft in July; Microsoft, for its part, recently claimed the European Commission had not responded to request for guidance on how to make sure Vista avoids regulatory entanglements.