Microsoft has announced that it would introduce a browser ballot screen for some European Windows users from March 1 to give them an alternative between Internet Explorer and its rival internet software.

Users will receive the browser choice screen via Windows update. Users will see a list of leading five browsers viz. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple safari, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Opera.

To see the additional browsers, users will require scrolling to the right.

Speaking on the topic, Microsoft’s VC Dave Heiner said, "Users who get the choice screen will be free to choose any browser or stick with the browser they have, as they prefer.”

Initial testing of the update is already taking place in Belgium, France and Britain.

The announcement came after Microsoft reached an agreement with the European Competition Commission in December last year, allowing European Internet Explorer users to choose their default browser.

Earlier, a number of critics including Opera software had opposed Microsoft for hamper Web standards by tightly integrating Internet Explorer with windows.