Personal computer users would be presented with automatic prompts asking them if they want to set their machines to use alternatives to Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser under a regulation being looked at by the European Commission in its latest antitrust action against the software company.

The unusual remedy, which would mark the most direct intervention yet by European regulators to promote consumer choice in technology markets, is likely to be part of an effort to deal with the dominant position of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, according to people familiar with the case.

The EU is expected to push ahead with its action this summer, along with a fine that legal observers say could approach the record €1.06bn ($1.49bn) recently levied on Intel.