Google likes to tout the advantages of self-regulation and the free market when its dominance in search and advertising is called into question, but the Web giant doesn't seem to mind letting the government intervene in the browser market. In an announcement posted today at Google's official public policy blog, Google VP of product management Sundar Pichai says that the company will be participating as a third-party in the European Commission's (EC) ongoing investigation of Internet Explorer.

Opera filed a complaint with the European Commission in 2007 alleging that Microsoft has undermined competition in the browser market by providing its own Internet Explorer Web browser in the dominant Windows operating system. Opera says that its browser never gained mainstream traction because of Microsoft's bundling tactics. The EC concurred with Opera in a statement that it issued in January which accused Microsoft of damaging browser innovation. In a follow-up statement that was issued this week, the EC says that Microsoft will face hefty fines and could be forced to provide other browser options in Windows that the user can select when installing Windows or ordering computers.

Mozilla announced earlier this month that it would be participating in the investigation and offering its assistance to the EC. Mozilla chairperson Mitchell Baker argued that the success of Firefox does not constitute productive competition and that the lack of successful commercial browser offerings reflects an unhealthy market ecosystem.

Google is now applying with the EC to participate in the proceeding in the same capacity as Mozilla. Pichai argues that the browser market today is still highly uncompetitive and that the advancement of emerging Web technologies could be significantly accelerated by imposing some constraints on Microsoft's bundling. He acknowledges, however, that finding an effective remedy will be difficult and that the process comes with risks.

"Google believes that the browser market is still largely uncompetitive, which holds back innovation for users. This is because Internet Explorer is tied to Microsoft's dominant computer operating system, giving it an unfair advantage over other browsers," he wrote in the blog entry. "We learned a lot from launching our own Google Chrome browser last year and are hoping that Google's perspective will be useful as the European Commission evaluates remedies to improve the user experience and offer consumers real choices. Of course creating a remedy that helps solve one problem without creating other unintended consequences isn't easy—but the more voices there are in the conversation the greater the chances of success."

Although the numerous deficiencies of Internet Explorer are well documented and Microsoft's historical resistance to compliance with open standards has created many challenges for Web developers, the browser market today is highly competitive and richly innovative. Mozilla has achieved significant traction in Europe and already has nearly half of the browser market in several countries.

It's also highly questionable whether bundling is still a truly relevant factor. Indeed, the fact that Google's brand new Chrome browser has already exceeded the marketshare of Opera seems to demonstrate that Opera's woes aren't entirely Microsoft's fault. In a recent interview with PC Pro, Mozilla's Mike Conner, one of the chief Firefox engineers, argued that Opera's claims that bundling harms competition are "provably false" and suggested that Opera's desktop browser is unpopular because it is too complex and distracting.

The EC has a poor track record with respect to Microsoft unbundling remedies. When the government body forced Microsoft to produce a version of Windows XP without Windows Media player, it was universally shunned and OEMs largely refused to ship it on hardware. The EC appears to be heading in a different direction this time, but it's unclear if it will have any impact on browser choice in the European market, where Firefox has already gained mainstream acceptance.