"It's definitely going to be next week," one source close to the issue said.

Microsoft already vowed to appeal to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg after the EU's executive commission in March fined the company a record 497 million euros (610 million dollars) and ordered changes to its Windows operating system.

After a five-year investigation, the European Commission ruled that the world's biggest software company was guilty of illegally stifling competitors in the markets for media player programs and low-end servers.

The Seattle-based company, denying that it abuses its overwhelming dominance to crush rivals, said it would ask the EU court to suspend the sanctions pending a ruling to its appeal, which could take up to five years.

SPACE.WIRE