Microsoft has decided Windows 7 will be released in Europe without Internet Explorer. This decision comes as the European Commission prepares to rule on antitrust charges brought against Microsoft in January.

Microsoft deputy general counsel Dave Heiner on a blog post said that:

Given the pending legal proceeding, we’ve decided that instead of including Internet Explorer in Windows 7 in Europe, we will offer it separately and on an easy-to-install basis to both computer manufacturers and users.

This means that computer manufacturers and users will be free to install Internet Explorer on Windows 7, or not, as they prefer. Of course, they will also be free, as they are today, to install other web browsers.