The browser ballot, the selection screen allowing Windows 7 users in the EU to pick which browser they would like installed, is coming to Windows 8, too. Microsoft is currently being investigated for antitrust abuse once again by the EU, after complaints that it was unfairly disadvantaging third-party browsers on Windows 8 and Windows RT. The company has promised to comply fully with the investigation.

Microsoft started providing the ballot application to Windows 8 users on September 4th. It gets installed by Windows Update, and after installation it runs as a full-screen Metro-style application offering a selection of browsers.

In 2009, the company settled its long antitrust case with the EU, agreeing to show European users a choice of twelve browsers (five main ones, with seven more revealed by scrolling), including Internet Explorer, in Windows 7. Since then, it has had a troubled history. The first version didn't properly randomize the order of the five main browsers. A subsequent update caused it to stop randomizing entirely in Poland.

The biggest problem was the discovery earlier this year that Windows 7 users running Service Pack 1 were not offered the ballot due to what the company called a "technical error." In the wake of this discovery, the European Commission launched a new antitrust investigation.

The extent of that investigation was then broadened after complaints that third-party browser makers are denied access to the same APIs as Internet Explorer uses on Windows RT. Windows RT only allows third-party applications that run in the tightly restricted Metro environment. These restrictions preclude the implementation of high-performance Web browsers. Internet Explorer, however, is not subject to these restrictions.